The Line Between Love, Hate, and Lust
by runzwithzizzorz
Summary: Itachi is dead, Sasuke doesn't know where to go from here, and fate brings Sakura to him. When he's invited back to Konoha, and an old agreement on Uchiha future arises that has Sakura as his wife, what will happen? True love, bitter hate or mere lust?
1. Chapter One: Hate

Waiting had always been the hardest part for her. Whether it had been waiting for her noodles with Naruto or waiting for the perfect moment for an ambush, ash she was now.

Her foot was falling asleep, so she shifted her weight on the branch of the tree, the encampment below her unaware of her presence. A chill wind blew through trees, blowing her smell downwind. She hoped there wasn't a tracked nearby. Such a little thing could make all the difference in a stealth mission such as this.

Deciding not to wait around to find out, she leapt to another branch with the svelte grace of a hunting cat, not even bouncing the branch she glided onto when she alighted on it.

The sun sank lower in the sky, casting strange patterns in the clouds that almost looked like seals. The moon was already hanging in the west, waiting to take over. Again the wind blew down from the forest down to the camp, but it was alright, the makeshift village was still silent and sleepy in the decline of the day.

Only a few more hours and it would be time for her to make her move for the main tent in the center of the camp that housed the Akatsuki records she was looking for. She went through the complex hand seals for the untraceable copying jutsu she had learned for the mission one more time to make sure she would not mess up under pressure, even though she never did.

Ever since she had been promoted to ANBU she had been precise and deadly in her actions, never a detrimental operative like her blond best friends had occasionally been with their clumsy impulsiveness. She did not like to, but she could wait for her prey.

While she mused, the sun had made the rest of its travel to the horizon quickly, and now the crickets were chirping in the new darkness of the summer night. The coldness of the wind that continued to blow concerned her.

When she could no longer distinguish shadows from the saturation of the rest of the night, she slipped from her perch, slipping down her mask onto her face. She rally didn't see the point of her wearing a mask, though; her pink hair saw to the recognition of her identity.

Two Sounds guards stood at the perimeter of the tents, but she made quick work of them with her poison-dosed senbon as she fell to the ground. There were four more at the corners of the tent she was headed to, though. They needed to be taken care of simultaneously.

She did.

Sending a push of chakra, she lowered each of them slowly to the ground so they did not crash down, causing unnecessary noise. Making sure the tent flap did not even flutter and no one passing by would notice the collapsed guards, she set a simple genjutsu around the tent.

Once inside, she recognized the snakes and dark aura of two dark haired, pale shinobis. So Sasuke had taken Oorochimaru's role as Otokage if he was staying in his old quarters. She had been assured he would be no where near the camp for the next few days, which would leave her well out of his way and safely back in Konoha.

The scroll she was looking for was set on the desk in the far corner of the tent, not even bothered to be hidden from a nosy guard. He must be confident in Sound's loyalty.

She unrolled the paper, going through the now easy motions of the copying jutsu, watching the words form on the blank scroll she had brought. She was about to turn to leave when a whisper of metal through air caught her ears, and sure enough, a steel point was pressed to her neck. A single drop of blood rolled down to her collar bone.

"You're a long way from home, ANBU," came a slow, lazy voice that was much deeper in timber than she remembered in her nightmares. She jumped, unintentionally pushing the blade deeper. She instinctively healed it before it could start pumping blood down her black uniform. The green glow of healing chakra spread quickly from the room, illuminating her mask and hair eerily for a second.

It was his turn to recoil. He hissed unintelligibly, whispering, "Sakura."

"Long time no see."

"Ironic or not, I have to discuss something with you, ANBU."

That explained why he hadn't killed her with chidori yet.

"Yes, well, whatever it is, we're not interested."

"You were the ones who opened the negotiations."

"I know nothing of it, so if you'll just excuse me…"

"Now, now, you have to stop running all the time."

The irony made her scoff, before running her own chakra down his blade, and dashing from the tent, taking her chances since he had made clear he wasn't going to kill her.

One problem, though, in her uncharacteristically impulsive get away, she had left both scrolls on the wooden desk behind her.


	2. Chapter Two: Hidden Emotions

Disclaimer: I own nothing. That genius is Kishimoto.:)

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

During the day I waited, watching Oto through the trees. Masking my chakra, I sat in the branches all day, mere feet from the open.

As much as I hated the idea, I had to go back. We needed that scroll or the mission would be a failure. In all likelihood I would meet Sasuke again in the tent, and as much as I loathed the notion, my duty came first to my emotions.

I had grown, and my emotions had to stay under control. Somehow, though, he always seemed to be able to rub me in _just_ the wrong way, to crawl into my skin like an itch I couldn't be rid of.

Never again would I let him see how much he still tortured me. It was one thing to admit he _had_ hurt me in the past, but never more than that.

As the sky darkened, though, I prepared myself for a fight. My obligation was to retrieve the scroll or redo it, killing anyone in my path. I was an ANBU, and that was what I was meant for. To protect Konoha.

I waited until the town had stilled, and the quiet world of night had settled. Sasuke had to know I was coming back, so I had to prepared as well.

He would kill me, but first he would have to catch me. My emotions could make me strong, and I'd learned how to use them to my advantage.

I couldn't be rid of them, no matter how I tried, but I could siphon them for a purpose.

The mask served no real purpose any more, so I discarded it. My face was my mask tonight.

The rest of the missing-nin in Oto were likely waiting for me as well. My chances were practically none, but if I was to die, I would die fighting. Not meek and whimpering _his_ name.

Swing lightly from the edge of the woods, my pale skin reflected the eerie light of the moon. Even though most of the dangers would be in the tent I was heading to, I still took precautions of stealth.

I completely hid my chakra, and watched the motionless camp with an a disbelieving eye.

With each quick leap, the tent grew closer, but it seemed in slow motion. I could control the rest, but my heart pounded erratically as I slipped inside, standing tall.

A hand to my kunai strap, I waited for an attack from the shadows, but none came. Instead, a low rumble reached me. My eyes flicking to the left corner, I spotted pale skin with two orbs of black fire, meeting his stare.

Not looking away, I swept my peripheral vision for the scroll, slowly taking out a single kunai.

He hadn't raised the alarm as I'd thought. He was seemingly alone.

"If I'd wanted you dead I would have killed you while you sat in that tree all day. I already told you, I am curious and under truce."

To convey his words, he stepped forward, revealing the scroll in the palm of his hand.

Suspicion flashed across my face before I swept it away. Without breaking his gaze, I reached for the paper, careful not to touch his skin.

His hand had my forearm before I could react, "I'm coming back. Under truce. You are my proof."

His words both sank into my mind like a drug, and chilled me to the core. The feel of his hot but cold flesh actually calmed my racing heart, but I nonetheless tried to wrench my arm from his grasp.

He simply stepped closer, dark eyes intense and threatening wordlessly. Hating it, I nodded minutely, my face as hard and feral as my mask.

I would never let him hurt me again.

He saw the force and threat in my harsh eyes and mouth as well, and, smirking, Sasuke pulled my arm closer before relinquishing his hold on me.

"What about your _teammates_?"

I tucked the scroll into my belt, closing my eyes for a second to control my furor.

"I left a missive to tell them I had clan business," he said carelessly, though I knew he understood my inflection.

Without another word, I made to leave, finally being able to turn my back to him and not look back to see if he was following.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Since he assumed I was the weaker, he let me set the pace, not wanting his 'proof' to be in any way debilitated. Finding a swift gait, though, we soon reached Konoha with barely any more contact than to pass the stew bowl.

When we reached the forest on Konoha's border, two jounin guards appeared to escort Sasuke in. I nodded my thanks to them, and took my leave without a glance to the man who'd broken my heart.

As I entered the gates, Naruto came into sight, "Sakura-chan!"

He hugged me, and laughed. He had been on a mission when id left on mine so it had been a while since I'd seen him. Smiling, I returned the embrace.

"Ichiraku's?" my best friend asked after we began to walk up the hill.

"Definitely," I replied, his happiness infecting me. My smile faltered as I felt someone watching me. My gaze left Naruto for a second, and rested on Sasuke, who'd arrived in the village gates.

Naruto's eyes followed mine, and soon he was walking me even faster, his hand protectively behind my back, an hard glint to his smile now.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Hi again:) I know I said the next chapter would be longer, but it just felt right to rest here. I updated twice in 24 hours, though! The big agreement comes up in the next chapter, so stay tuned!(I always wanted to say that) Also, I didn't plan for Naruto to have romantic feelings for Sakura, but if you guys want him to, let me know. Review to tell me whether or not he should be like a brother or...not. Thanks, and any thoughts at all are greatly appreciated. Oh, and to everyone who reviewed(christina51879, haliz, C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only, Saiya-San, and Pibinezz) I luv ya!


	3. Chapter Three: Reason or Madness

**Ok, I am soooo sorry for taking so long to upload, but life had been hectic: finals, custody, shit hitting the fan. Hopefully the length of the chapter helps to make up for it, and the fact that I have most of the plot lined out in my head. The reason I didn't describe their travel to Konoha was that I wanted them to still seem like strangers when they got there, because despite the constant awareness, they are. Ok, now, the sex part is likely coming up in the next few chapters, so let me know if you just want a taste or a lemon. Remember, this is a physical then emotional story for them both-at least admittedly anyway. Hope it was worth the wait!**

 

"Uchiha Sasuke, come in," Tsunade said to the man in the doorway to her office, flanked by two ANBU guards who turned to stand outside the door as Sasuke walked forward.

"You said you had business about my clan."

Tsunade was a little taken aback by the directness of his approach, but blinked a few times and answered, "Yes, I do, and I think you know why I have invited you back."

At the corner of his mouth, a smirk tugged at his lips. He did know, he had always known. Ever since he was small and had torn through the Uchiha compound in a fit of rage because of his late brother he had known. While destroying his father's office, a scroll he was about to add to the pile soon to be a pyre had caught his eye.

_It_ was a legal document. His seven-year-old's mind froze as he took in what he could understand. _It_ was a contract for an arranged marriage signed by the Fourth Hokage. _It_ had his name as the groom, and a certain annoying peer at the Ninja Academy as his betrothed.

"So, you found it," he said quickly, smirk firmly in place now.

He had always assumed that the copy that had been given to the Hokage's office had been lost in the archives, hidden beneath towers of parchment and scrolls, never to be found.

"From your presence here I assume you are in agreement with the contract, as you want an heir and she has good genetics."

"Exactly."

Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to figure out a way to keep both parties or rather, all four parties, happy.

"In return you will leave our village alone, you and your comrades in the Sound. Fair?"

He thought for a moment, and said, "I will leave you alone. Pein's attack hasn't exactly left you in the best of situations, though, especially without your Elders," a dark glint flashed across his eyes, "so there is hardly anything to gain from hurting you further."

Swallowing the insults and callus retelling of the events still too recent to speak of. Many more names had been added to the memorial stone because of that day, Shizune's being one of them.

She shook her head to push back the screams from her mind.

"Do you know how you will persuade Sakura to consent to this, for I will not be part of the rape of my apprentice and she is not _exactly_ you're your biggest _fan_ now."

A proud smile quirked Tsunade's lip, and the Uchiha simply looked on with mild amusement. "I have an idea, and you're right, she isn't."

That was the closest he would ever get to admit the jounin had changed since he'd known her.

On their journey back, if it could even be called that, as it was more like two strangers traveling along a common path, she had been almost as cold to him as he had been to her when they were teammates. When they had spoken sparse words to each other they had been with aloof stares and a slight grimace of disgust in the shape of her mouth and nose, almost as if there was some foul smell in the air.

It fascinated him, what she had become. It made him wonder how the baka had changed as well. The glare he had sent Sasuke as he led Sakura into the village was one of pure antipathy and scorn mixed with a trace of joy underneath. The possessive hold on Sakura's waist led him to think Naruto had finally won her over in the Uchiha's absence, but that was quickly dispelled by the lovers' embrace he shared with the Hyuuga girl.

The Hokage sighed, "Then why don't you go to your compound. I want to give her a day before I dump this on her."

"Fine."

He jumped out of the window, and vanished from sight once again.



Sakura, Hinata, Temari, and Ino were sitting in Ino's living room watching movie credits roll. Sakura stood to turn the light on, and walked into the kitchen to refill on popcorn for the sequel. It had been too long since they'd done this, and tomorrow she would most likely be sent on another mission or put into medical rotation.

While the popcorn was crackling away in the microwave and her friends were chatting idly she thought back a few months to when Pein had finally attacked.

It had been pure chaos. Screams echoed off of the huge carved faces of the past Hokages, and simply amplified the horror. It had been Naruto who had dealt the killing blow to Pein, causing the rest to scatter and retreat. He did it while Tsunade crouched over Shizune's body and Pein gloated.

All the while they hadn't known that the Elders were not safe as they thought, but their jounin guards had been slaughtered, and the Elders lay in their own sticky puddles.

No one needed to guess as to who was responsible.

The microwave beeped, and she quickly refocused on the present. When she turned from the dark kitchen counter to the lit living room and saw Ino laughing, Hinata tapping her index fingers together silently, blushing, and Temari simply sitting with her legs crossed and a smile on her face, she found herself once again content in where she found herself.

Happy, she smiled, too, and joined her friends.

It was well past midnight when the final movie was over. Sakura, Temari, and Hinata set out to their own apartments laughing in the cool night air. The crickets chirped, and the moon illuminated their path.

"So," Temari started when their giggles had settled, "is he really back?"

The smile on Sakura's face quivered, but remained. They had steered clear of this subject all night, and she knew it was for her sake. She turned to Temari, and found her gaze trained on her, and Hinata's up at the pale moon so like her eyes.

"Yes, he's back. For now. Hopefully he'll be gone soon," her voice was strong and unwavering, even casual.

"Sure, Sakura, whatever you say."

Banners rippled in the gentle wind as the silence lengthened and the girls parted paths. With a wave, she turned right, and continued down the dark street. A gentle breeze blew down the road, and disturbed the half curtains hanging from the restaurants. It was eerie to walk down the usually busy thoroughfare and have it deserted with night's shadows transforming it further into an unfamiliar scene.

Sakura forced her footfalls to be slow, and made a conscious effort to be silent. Something was gnawing at her insides, and her chakra tingled in her fingers and toes, wanting to be exercised. When she saw a lone WANTED poster on a telephone pole ahead and dark eyes seemed to penetrate her from even a sketch, she broke.

He was not wanted anymore. Especially not by her.

Leaping soundlessly into the air, she soared gracefully onto the roof of a clothing store, and did not hesitate in her motions before sprinting off across the rooftops of her home toward the training grounds.

Her body tingled with energy and pent up emotions as she flew across the field and into the woods, her crackling chakra propelling her faster than she could ever remember before. She needed to think.

In a clearing not far into the trees she began to let out her burning chakra. Her mentor had passed on more than beauty to her apprentice; Sakura was strong.

Closing her eyes to focus her chakra into her right hand, she calmed her buzzing, humming mind. As her jade eyes snapped open, her chakra exploded in a single swift punch to the ground. She was far enough away from the village that the resounding roar of the rocks turning to powder beneath her would not wake anyone.

So she thought, but the very eyes that had sent her on her rage through the forest calmly opened, and trained on the small cloud of dust rising above the silver treetops.

By the time the infuriating mosquito-drone in her mind had quietened to a low ringing in her ears the clearing had expanded to a wide radius around her of rubble and fallen trees. As the air settled, and her heart rate slowed, she let her eyelids droop.

Spinning red eyes flashed before her eyes, and it was back, raging back with a passion. She took off through the trees again, back to the training grounds. Branched skimmed past her, red blooming on her shining skin, but as soon as they appeared, she healed them. Looking for any excuse to use her chakra despite her training to conserve, she healed every abrasion and paper-cut.

The canopy of leaves broke into the meadow, and she froze. Three dummies stood at the very far end of the field, two arena's lengths from her.

Most shinobi would not have been able to see her movements they were so quick, but the spectator was not most shinobi. Until that day he had been an S-class nukenin.

So, when she whipped nine senbon from her thigh pocket and sent them flying with an ease that pulled a corner of his mouth persuasively. Each of the simultaneously thrown needles landed on the pulse-point of each dummies' neck in a triangle not a centimeter wide.

After making a single, lightening fast hand sign, three slashes appeared down the chests of her inanimate opponents. Packing poured out as Sakura retrieved her senbon.

Testing her chakra, she realized that it was almost as it had been at the sleepover; something in her had simply burst with surplus energy, not draining hr at all.

Still wide awake and not likely to fall asleep before the sun rose over the trees, she returned to her apartment, locking her fiery emotions in with her.

When she was safely away from the training grounds, a dark figure barely a shadow stepped up to the ragged sacks of straw and rice. Remembering the large cloud she had come running from he was very pleased with the genetics she would provide. So he reasoned.

**There you go! R&R please! I check my stats, so I know how many of you are out there reading this, so please review! It makes me want to update more and tells me what you guys want from the story:)**


	4. Chapter Four: Hot and Cold

**Hey everybody! i think I'm getting more consistent on my updates, and as soon as I have this uploaded I'm going to start on the next chapter. I have the lemon written, but keep in mind that it's my first one. It'll either be in the next chapter or the one after, depending on where I break them. Enjoy!**

Sakura was a little sore the next day. Her arms tingled and pinched in a distinctly irritating way, but she refused to show it. Wanting to report to her mentor before she got too backed up with paperwork and politics, she had set out as the sun rose to give Tsunade the briefing on the mission as well as the scroll she had risked more than her life for; her pride.

She'd switched her ANBU outfit for her regular fighting one; a pair of white ankle boots that left most of her legs bare until they reached her upper thighs and met a clingy black shorts under a silky black tunic which covered her arms and a pair of black gloves with pink seams. On the tunic, straight down the shoulders were two stripes of palest pink and a band of rose under her chest to cinch it in the back.

Naruto hadn't much appreciated how bare the tunic left her legs, and the looks it caused, but to her it was practical for being a ninja. True, she was a medic-nin, but as she could handle my own in a fight she was an active med-nin, often accompanying other ANBU on difficult missions and running her own.

So, as she crossed the street to shishou's office, Sakura enjoyed the feel of the soft spring breeze playing over her skin on the hot day. The cool air of the Hokage's building was a little relief from the sun beating down on the unusually warm day.

Eyes adjusting immediately in the shift of light, she continued down the corridor. Pulling the door open, she found Kakashi-sensei already in Tsunade-sama's office. His eye crinkled in a smile as Sakura grinned at him, "Kakashi-sensei, you're back," she exclaimed happily. Kakashi had been gone for almost a month on a secret mission for the council in Wave Country. He nodded before turning back to her current sensei, and so did she.

"Here's the scroll, Tsunade-sama," Sakura offered the paper roll to Tsunade, pulling it from her belt.

The Hokage looked slightly relieved, but her smile never reached her eyes as she took it, "Thank you, Sakura. Was there any other difficulty?"

"I'll be writing a full report, but it was a success. I'm still nervous about having a missing-nin such as him," she couldn't quite get his name out, "inside the village, but he didn't try to kill me when he discovered a Fire Nation ANBU in his camp."

"Anything else?" The Hokage had meant about the copying of the scroll, as she knew that having the Uchiha anywhere near would cause unrest for her apprentice, but she didn't voice this.

"No, the rest of the mission went smoothly. Is that all, shishou?"

Tsunade hesitated for only a second, and both Kakashi and Sakura noticed, but neither said a word, "Yes, Sakura-chan, you may go."

Kakashi narrowed his eye slightly, but Sakura, eager to be gone from her mentor's sight in a sudden urge to be by herself, did not question her.

Flashing a smile to her senseis, Sakura swept from the room gracefully.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Turning back to Tsunade, Kakashi grew serious again, "So, why is it that you called me here, _granny_?"

He was trying to alleviate some of the tension she held in her shoulders, but all that got him was a glare.

"Ok, ok, what is it?" He tried again.

Tsunade sighed, and reached for her liquor bottle. Taking it as a bad sign, Kakashi sat in a chair before her.

"Sasuke chose her."

He was surprised for only a second before it made sense to him. Still, anger began to fester in the pit of his stomach. The Uchiha had always been a soft spot for Kakashi as he had seen so much of himself in the boy, but with regard to his female counterpart he could be nothing short of cruel.

It seemed that whenever fate provided a chance to play with the young woman's mind and stab her heart yet again, he would. Kakashi and Naruto had watched as Sakura battled to keep up with the others, and knew exactly why she had.

She couldn't be left behind, not again.

"You don't want to tell her."

Sadness crept into the older woman's eyes, "No, I don't think I even _can_. Not when he's just going to leave again, with the child I imagine."

"I'll do it, I owe her that," Kakashi was solemn, and Tsunade nodded silently. Kakashi crossed to the window to shout for Sakura to wait, but saw her pale pink hair shining as she laughed when Naruto ran up a telephone pole to avoid a rampaging tabby cat.

He just couldn't do it now, but he would do it. Eventually. Not when he could see her so happy, which would change so soon.

Then it came to him. She would suffer again for her village's safety.

_Unless…_

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Again Sakura could not sleep peacefully in her bed. She tangled her sheets around her in twisted rolls, and eventually threw them disgustedly onto the floor at some time past midnight.

Something was making her restless and uneasy, and she refused to admit what the _something_ was. So, she glared at the horizon as the sun began to rise through her window. She didn't feel tired thanks to her deep chakra reserves, but it still annoyed her that the something could be affecting her sleep.

Rubbing her eyes, she brushed her sleek hair away from her face as she rose. The birds were barely starting to sing, and the day was still cloaked in twilight shadows. She knew, though, that she would not be able to sleep anymore with the day this close.

She padded down the hall of her small apartment to the kitchen, and poured herself a steaming mug of jasmine strawberry tea as she watched the sun paint the sky a pretty, bloody red.

Sometime later Naruto yelled at her even before he opened the door to her living room, not bothering to knock, "Neji and I are going to fight, Sakura-chan, and you're coming!" He then turned from the room, wheeling back into the sunshine on street.

Part of her was angry at his assumption, but she simply shouted, "Fine, Naruto-kun, but next time ask, idiot!"

Naruto paused on his way down the block, causing early risers to carry their loads around him, muttering. Hiding his shock at the title, he smiled and replied of coarse.

As she caught up with him, Naruto realized with uncanny wits why she had added the suffix she usually never said anymore. It was because teme was back. Whether she realized it or not, the medic was trying to distance herself from him in every last way and latch even more onto Naruto to fill the void.

Naruto swore to himself on the beast inside him he would never betray her the way _he_ had.

The small, pink-haired woman beside him was his family, and he would hunt down and find _anyone_ who hurt her. He had tried, but before Naruto could find him, _he_ found _her_.

When Kakashi joined them on their way to the training field he seemed to be immersed in the newest edition of his favorite adult series, Make-out Paradise. Hinata, Ino, and Neji were sitting waiting beneath a tree to keep clear of the wind. The temperamental weather had gone from balmy to chilled in twenty-four hours. Kakashi wished hearts could shift as easily as Sakura sat, smiling in the grass beside her friends to watch the spar.

He felt like he was lying to her by procrastinating, but he couldn't bring himself to dictate her fate to her. Instead, he slid the book into his back pocket as Naruto and Neji faced each other.

"Sakura, I have to talk to you," he said, but she waved at him to be quiet as the match began.

"Ok, ok, after," she was excitedly watching her partner's lightning-fast movements proudly.

Nodding, Kakashi watched his ex-pupil's attacks with a similar expression. Team 7 had surpassed even his expectations.

Naruto had learned to control the demon inside him, and use it in times of need instead of the other way around. His passion for life and optimism gave him will power few could contend with. If he encountered someone more skilled than him or more learned he would pull through in pure pig-headedness. He was well on his way toward becoming Hokage as captain of the ANBU.

Sakura had blossomed into a true ninja. In her childhood she had been naïve and unable to pull the trigger. Life had hardened her, but she still held that spark of youth that drew people to her like moths to a flame. As an accomplished and arguably the most competent med-nin the Fire Nation, she held a respect for life and death, also being an ANBU. She was strong, but did not deserve the blow he was about to lay on her. Her loyalty to her home would make her accept, but Kakashi was scared of what effect it would have on her.

Sasuke, how could he think of how he had turned out. He was undoubtedly one of the most feared ninja in the land, if not _the_ most feared. Now that his clan was avenged, and what he saw as his duty fulfilled and the second deed soon to be completed, what would he do next? Would he continue down the dark path before him…or could hearts change if met by pure love? Could his frozen heart melt?

Kakashi could only hope, for all of their sakes.

**There you go! Review please, I LOVE getting reviews! Seriously, I reallllllly love it! Ok, well, tata for now:)**

**~Kat**


	5. Chapter Five: Wildfire vs Ice Age

Naruto won. After numerous tries to get past Neji's byakugan, he finally succeeded. One punch with the rasengan was all it took for him to KO Neji.

Sakura was cheering as Naruto completed a victory dance. Grimly watching the pinkette, Kakashi motioned for her to follow him into the cover of the trees.

Taking in his solemn expression, and sobered as she stopped in front of him. When he began to speak, the sounds of the forest around her muffled, and she felt her eyes get watery from staying so wide for too long.

She decided that she must have been hearing things despite the eerie silence that filled her mind hypnotically. The buzzing began to start up again in the void, and she felt words coming back to her.

"He chose…me?" Her voice cracked like shattering glass, and her expression was as blank as Sasuke's had been when he'd named his choice.

"Yes, Sakura. No one will force you to go through with it, though. You have every right to refuse, and no one would-" Kakashi watched her broken face, and felt like a monster.

"No…no. Konoha needs protection right now. I'll do it, she closed her eyes, and did not speak for a long time. Kakashi was about to turn to leave her to her thoughts when she said calmly, "On one condition."

He turned around, surprised by the fire in her gaze. Her chakra had flared intimidatingly as her eyes flew open, "Where is he?"

Almost scared for the Uchiha, Kakashi escourted her to the Uchiha estate, wary of leaving her alone in the state.

Sakura, though, was quite at ease. She had been preparing for the day she would have to interact with him again…though she had never thought she would _interact_ with him in this sense. He wasn't the only one who could shield emotions, whatever they really were. She didn't think _she_ even knew what she felt then.

Inside, part of her was magnetically pulled to him, another repulsed, and for which reason she did not know, she always _felt_ him. Sakura cried tears of joy and heartache at the thought of sharing a child with him, her first love.

With a single tap of her finger, both doors to the courtyard crashed open, and Kakashi actually flinched. Sasuke must have heard the noise, but was staying hidden in the main house.

When the pair reached the front door to the house, Sakura let out a breath, and knocked lightly on the door. She steeled herself for his appearance, but could not hide the traces of feral anger and pure disbelief that arched her brows and widened her gaze. Her lips were tight, and her cheeks unnaturally pale as the door opened.

The picture of apathy, Sasuke Uchiha appeared in the doorway, but when he caught the look in the young woman's eyes, even he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"I'll do it." The words were quiet and cool, but the pyre in her eyes betrayed her fire within.

"I know." He looked almost amused.

Her eyes narrowed, "On one condition."

"Hn?" She smirked this time, staring up at that large man with such intensity Kakashi thought if he passed through her gaze he might come away singed.

"The child is _not_ going to just disappear with you."

Kakashi hadn't even thought of that part, but it suddenly made sense to him. Apparently Sasuke hadn't thought she would mind either, as he did look taken aback, and didn't hide it.

"Why?"

She exploded.

"Why!? You… you _baka_! Not only do you come back here after all these years, in the very same place you lived when you trained with Naruto, but you have the _arrogance_ to ask why I would want to know my _child_!"

She took a step toward him, and tapped his chest with each inflection, leaving nail-shaped holes in his shirt as he stood motionless.

"With a father like _you_ it would need all the _human_ contact it could get! If you presume to control how I would see _my_ child, then find another girl to 'further you clan' with! Count me out! Come and attack us, I _dare_ you to face me! You have no _idea_ the _pleasure_ it would give me to take you down a notch, _Uchiha_!"

Kakashi almost wanted to laugh at the situation, but fear of Sakura's wrath made him reconsider.

She meant it, too, every word. Anger radiated from every pore of her body like the largest wildfire meeting an ice age. Static hummed in the air as the pair simply stared at each other.

"Fine."

"Anything else you failed to mention before?"

Sasuke wanted to ask where the fan girl who would have jump at the chance of bearing his children had gone, but held his tongue. The woman before him was an entirely new beast…aside from the temper.

"You don't have to marry me."

That surprised her.

"What?"

"When I am gone you are free to marry who you wish, if you ever want to," it was the closest thing to kindness he could give.

"No."

Sasuke jerked his head in surprise, and Kakashi opened his mouth.

"We will divorce after, but…our child will _not_ be born out of wedlock."

"Then meet me in the Hokage's office at three."

"No, now."


	6. Chapter Six: Exquisite Pain

**Ok everybody, this is the lemon chapter. For any innocent readers out there, that means sex scene, so keep in mind this is rated M for a reason. I wanted to make the wedding small and business-like, purely ceremonial. After all, everything is kind of backwards with Sakura and Sasuke. Enjoy!**

Refusing to show embarrassment or nervousness, Sakura strode into the Uchiha compound confidently. She paused at the front door to the main house, and let Sasuke go in front.

He led her into the dark house, and didn't bother turning on a light as they both could see well enough by the light of the moon.

The day had been long. Sakura had insisted on being married that day, and though she did not say why, it was because she wanted Sasuke out of Konoha as soon as possible, and out of her life. As out of her life as he could be as father of her child.

They had signed the paperwork and marriage licenses, but Sakura was still Haruno Sakura and single in everything but title. No rings were exchanged in the Hokage's office, and there was no smiling, joyful bride held close by her loving groom.

Instead, there was a cold couple who may as well have been made of marble while the Hokage spoke the vows. They had skipped the actual 'I do's', knowing they would be lies. The only sickness of hers he would endure was morning sickness.

When Tsunade had said in front of Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, Naruto, and Ino that they were now man and wife, some extreme emotion burned the young kunoichi's eyes for a moment, but she had gotten better at hiding her emotions since Sasuke had left and he did not read what it was before it was locked away again.

"Do you want to go home for a while before moving to the Uchiha estate, Sakura?" Tsunade asked, but the pink haired apprentice smiled wanly.

"No. I do not procrastinate missions, and this one is no different, shishou," she murmured.

Tsunade sighed, and asked for the rest to leave as she spoke to Sakura alone, though Sasuke could hear as well as if he were in the room.

"Sakura, this isn't a mission. You don't _have_ to do this! We don't _need_ his protection!"

"Yes, we do. Thank you for saying that, but do you think I would be doing this if I knew it wasn't necessary? I gave him my heart…once, but now, now no one has it; my home does. Konoha is my love, and I will do anything to protect it; I am a _ninja_, Tsunade-sama."

There was an odd stillness about the house that slightly unnerved Sakura; she repressed a shudder when crossing the threshold to the cold entry room.

"The kitchen is through that door, and there is a bathroom adjoining to the master bedroom," Sasuke said, his version of a tour.

"Right," she whispered, still on edge. Instinctively, she could not let her guard down around someone who had been the enemy not two weeks ago…not to mention broken her heart once already.

Though she would never admit it out loud, she was terrified of the power he still held over her heart. Though it was nothing compared to what he had held before he betrayed it, Sasuke was till her first love…and rival. What if the dormant feelings she had repressed out of necessity bloomed in their…intimacy?

No, she wouldn't let that happen. She was older now, and did not hold the childish belief that he might actually care for her any more. She was his incubator, and nothing more. That was her mission; give the Uchiha an heir, and go on living so her home could live without the threat of the Sound attacking them again.

When Sasuke had led her up into what she presumed was her room for the next nine months, she crossed to the large sliding doors. Pulling one of the glass panels across, the singing of the crickets permeated the room. The sun had sunk below the mountains, and the air had grown chill.

She could see each star in the sky bright against the inky purple night, the silver long-grass rippling like a metallic sea steeped in dancing shadows from the towering trees.

She shivered with a sudden wind, rubbing her shoulders.

Suddenly finding herself on the large bed in the middle of the room, and the screen doors closed tight, Sakura's eyes widened at the speed with which he had moved. Quickly hiding her surprise, though, she met his gaze as he stood over her beside the bed, "I don't need you getting a cold."

She chuckled darkly before lying back against the headboard. Of coarse, he couldn't let anything happen to her… for now. After she gave birth, she would be nothing to him again. The young woman below him hoped she could say the same by the end.

Sakura looked around the room for a few minutes, taking in the details of the space. Hanging form the wall in front of her was a large red and white fan, making her smirk satirically.

His legs touching the bed by her waist, Sasuke simply watched, thinking. Never had he thought it would be _her_ who bore the next Uchiha heir. As they had practiced together as children he had found her unwavering trust in him annoying and ignorant; the mind of a child. No longer did she follow blindly, now she watched everything with a pretense of carelessness, but hid observant eyes.

When her gaze finally had nowhere left to go, Sakura's shining green eyes met his hopelessly dark, intense own. She new what had to happened next. She did not want to seem innocent, so after running a barely-trembling hand through her short pink hair, she lowered a hand to the zipper at her chest.

Though there were no lights on, the full moon illuminated more than enough for Sasuke to see by, and she new it. He watched her slip off her red top, letting it fall to the floor beside the bed. Wanting to keep the status quo even, she knelt up on her knees to pull off Sasuke's white shirt. He simply watched her ministrations, letting her unclothe him.

Once his chest was bare, though, he pushed her back down onto the covers, his body looming over her. They stared at each other for a long while, his face not betraying any emotion and her eyes divulging only the slightest hint of fear.

He smirked at her anticipation, and, irritated at giving him some satisfaction, she crushed her mouth to his. Their eyes continued to stare at the others for a few seconds, goading the other, before closing.

When she ended the kiss and brought her head back to the pillow, his eyes snapped open, and she became distinctly aware of how close they were. Her legs were between his, but then crossed over his calves, his body flush with hers.

When she met his gaze, she saw the flicker of something like fire in his eyes. As soon as it appeared, his mouth was on hers. His lips were surprisingly urgent and longing against her. Trying to get a response out of her, he flicked his tongue across her bottom lip before nipping it between his teeth. She kept perfectly still, only moving to breathe.

He moved down her jaw, her body betraying her in a shiver as he licked below her ear. She felt him smirk against her skin, and she decided she'd had enough of being the one pushed to…whatever.

She rolled him over, straddling his waist. It was her turn to smirk down at him. She had planned to simply laying there as he…impregnated her, but he had turned this into a competition for control. She had to prove to him that she was not some lovesick little girl any more; she was a strong woman whose heart would never be his again. Her body, maybe, but never her heart. She wasn't quite sure how participating in this act would help that, but at this point he had dared her, and she would never back down. Not from him.

That look in her eyes did more to turn him on than anything else. When she lowered herself over him just enough to feel her breasts beneath her black bra rub him, he nearly growled at her. Instead, he bit his tongue, and kept his face impassive, challenging her to try harder. He could not stop blood from rushing between his legs, though; his mind had no control over that.

He didn't think she had noticed, though, and for that he was slightly thankful, as she would have won a battle. He would lose to no one. Instead, she continued to move against him, creating a rhythm with her chest. They were still locked in a staring match as she began to rock her hips back and forth, causing him to close his eyes and tilt his head back, his low growl filling her head.

Masochistically, he lay there while she tortured him. Her rationalization for her actions was that the sooner she had him turned on, the sooner it would be over. Sasuke struggled to keep his Sharingan from activating as she brought her lips to his shoulder softly.

Her supple lips left a trail of fire over his numb skin, making him feel more than he had in a long time. Sure, he'd done things with other girls, but never slept with them, that was something for the mother of his child.

She on the other hand, had. This was not her first time. That belonged to someone else from two-years-ago's one nightstand.

Her hands skimmed his abs, dipping closer to his belt before heading north again. Every now and then she would rake her nail along his chest, eliciting him to arch his neck back.

She tormented him until he decided to return the favor, flipping them over. Slipping a hand beneath her black shorts, he ran his fingertips along her thigh before his touch became rougher. Swiftly he pulled off her shorts and skirt in one easy motion, throwing them to the side before clapping his hand to her skin again.

Their breathing had become ragged and loud, gasping for air while resisting the need to whimper and groan. When she evened the playing field, tugging his woven belt off and pooling his pants beside the bed frame on the floor his pretenses at still being unaffected by her attentions fell away. She was only in her black bra with a single strap and white boyshorts, and he in a pair of black boxers.

The growl that sprang from his throat was deep and dangerous in the most primal way as she lay back against the sheets, watching him warily as he crouched over her, mere centimeters away from her flesh, but not actually touching her anywhere.

"I'll make you enjoy it, too," his whisper sent hot breath fanning across her neck, and she shivered, knowing he would.

**(Ok, this is where the lemon starts, so anyone who doesn't want to read it can skip ahead. This is my first lemon…so be gentle with the critiques. Hahaha, wow, I just got that.)**

With that, he lowered his body to hers, lightly creating fire across her skin. His fingers traced slowly from her outer thigh, over the curve of her derriere, and up the small of her back. She arched her back up to him as he skimmed up her spine. Before she even realized what had happened, Sasuke had unfastened the single buckle at her back, her bra falling loose over her chest.

Sakura froze, and flinched back into the covers unconsciously, but made no move to cover herself. He pulled it free slowly, and when her chest was free, he first watched her frozen expression, her lips slightly parted in surprise, before touching his fingertips to her collarbone.

His trace fell down the slope of her breast, causing her to shiver where he touched the sensitive flesh. His thumb began to draw circles around her peak, and when he rubbed over it, she gasped. His response was immediate as her mouth opened.

He claimed her lips forcefully, eliciting her to groan into his mouth. He cupped her right breast roughly, and then continued his progression down her stomach.

Sakura was still fairly unresponsive, but when he pulled back and sent her a look that clearly said 'told you so', she decided she would fight back again.

She pulled her legs out from under him, and instead wrapped them around him tightly, their still clothed parts in contact as she established a rhythm.

He looked down at her with dangerous black fire in his stare, but it only urged her on. Still rocking against him, she added her now bare upper body to the wave, pulsing her body up and down.

When she squeezed him with her thighs, he brought an arm to the bed to support himself, and violently pulled her to him as he threw his head back. Sakura nipped at his marble neck. Sasuke's fingers lingered dangerously close to her along her inner thigh, and the next thing she knew she was completely naked.

She was too far gone in the battle to become embarrassed again, and so simply relieved him of his remaining barriers as well. Thoughts of the mission were out the window, all she knew was the fire he had set in her core with his touch. As for Sasuke, he was burning with her, reveling in the pleasure of fulfilling his last goal.

Still, when Sakura felt something hot against her, she could not help the gasp as the situation came crashing back down onto her. Her eyes flew wide, and met his. Something in hers made him jolt back as well, and they both stilled as he slowly spread her apart.

When he could go no further, he withdrew, but she moved with him. Her arms wound around his back as they joined, and the two were aflame. The rhythm began to come back, and as their hips found a melody that they gasped to, he curled his head into the crook of her neck as he groaned with each thrust.

She simply couldn't get him close enough, so after the bed began to creak in protest and two voices crescendoed in heat, they lay still for a time.

**(Lemon over…it felt soooo awkward typing this.)**

Sasuke's arm was still supporting his weight as he slowly regained his breath and Sakura's vision cleared. Then she wriggled under him, and he threw himself off of her.

"Thank you, Sakura."

She didn't know what to say, and was unable to speak anyway. Her stomach toiled within her, and she placed a hand to her belly, knowing was would soon cause it to swell. It was already within her; her child.

_His_ child.

Sasuke's child.

She squeezed her eyes shut, crinkling them as she forced her breathing to slow and her chakra to ebb and flow easily, hiding the turmoil underneath. She knew she could not sleep, and waited silently for when it would come for him.

_Didn't Ino always say men always fall asleep two seconds after sex?_

She waited.

After she thought he had to be asleep, she crept out of bed and into a bathroom. Dropping the sheet from around her shivering frame, Sakura turned on the shower, but even over the hiss of the water Sasuke could hear her cry.

**Well there you have it. I tried to get Sasuke right, but I felt he was a bit OOC. Oh well. Also, I didn't want Sakura to just be lying there, and she wouldn't just go at it with him when she's so stubborn! So...I added a little competition, an arousal competition. lol. Rate and Review please!**


	7. Chapter Seven: Decisions, Decisions

When sleep finally captured Sakura hours later the sun was already tinting the cloudless sky pale lilac. Therefore, her dream was choppy and indistinct, but she could remember a few solitary snapshots when she awoke a long while later.

She slept most of the day, and no one woke her. So it was with her dream still in her mind's eye that she slowly opened her eyes to stare at the ceiling.

Light poured into the room, and she could hear dim noises from the heart if the city from the open window. She tilted her head so she could judge the time of day by the shadows of the sun.

Early afternoon. Silently, tears filled her eyes at the truth of her dream and the reasons for her not being in her own bed that night. Keeping the liquid that threatened to spill over the brim of her lashes, she mentally checked over her body.

The silky sheets were stark contrast to the pain the young woman felt, but no matter how she shifted in the bed could she be rid of the discomfort. Sakura had healed the blooming bruises along her wrists and hips, not to mention repaired some internal tears, but was still haunted by the ghost of some wound her chakra could not reach.

Refusing to think where the hurt might be springing from, she slipped from the bed. She wondered why no one had woken her earlier as it was her day to make rounds at the hospital.

Pulling on the clothes form the day before, she resolved to change at the hospital before seeing to any patients.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

A caress of disturbed air let Tsunade know one of her ANBU has in her office. Setting down the file she had been reading, she slowly looked up at the masked face, she raised an eyebrow, displeased at being interrupted.

"Hokage-sama, you wished to be informed immediately if team Hawk made any suspicious moves."

"Yes?"

"They are heading for Konoha, perhaps three days journey."

"For Sasuke?"

"No, they do not know he is here. They come to negotiate."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

It had been a week since Kakashi had told her. A week of falling asleep, eyes sore from holding in frustrated tears beside the man who had haunted her for longer than she cared to remember. Each night he would build her fire higher, and they both knew it was simple lust. Sakura hated him for it; for what he could do to her.

Each night he would try for an heir, and she knew he would only relent when she was with-child. Each night fire burned through her, painful stabs where frozen parts of her bean to thaw. She would fall asleep terrified that she would fall again, and wouldn't be able to pull herself up this time when he showed his true colors.

And each day Sakura would walk through Konoha, receiving looks spanning every possible emotion from sympathy to disgust, gratitude to envy. Her own feelings were just as varied. One second she could be resolute in her duty and mind set, and next she would be restraining her viscous temper at the cruel unfairness of it all.

Sakura had gone to the hall of records to see the document for herself, trying almost disbelieving that it really did have her name on it. From what she could gather it had been a tentative agreement while the Uchiha clan was thriving, but when Sasuke had become the last way the clan could continue, it had been become a secret law that he _would_ carry on the clan. She just happened to be the best choice at the time…and now, she was showing promise to the Uchiha, and that was the deal-maker.

The paper in her hand didn't care what it was causing her to feel, what it made her remember. She had subconsciously avoided the stretch of road where she had been rested on that bench that night, cutting through the trees if she had to. She never questioned it, she simply did.

Part of what hurt her, though she would rather die than admit it, was that his choosing her, assuming the conflict he it would inflict on her, meant that he could have never cared for her at all. She had never meant anything to the man she had once given her heart.

The truth was, he still had it, he always would. Sakura had been unable to accept any of the advances from the various men in the village who showed interest because her heart was not hers anymore. It was gone, locked in ice.

She could still love, but not _that_ way. After Pain had attacked, Naruto had begun to see that it wasn't that Sakura didn't love him or _want_ to give her heart to him. She _couldn't_. Slowly, his haste for his best friend's return had evaporated as his resentment for what Sasuke had done to Sakura boiled. Just as she could not sever the part of her she had given to Sasuke, neither could he.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were eternally bound.

Sakura's white medic jacket whipped around her in the wind as she crossed to her apartment, ready to settle in for the night at her own apartment. Sasuke would just have to deal.

She had spent the day updating charts and taking vitals, fairly tedious work, but since they were so short-staffed after the invasion, just like any other duty for her home, she had to.

Her stomach coiled like a spring as she thought of what most likely already within her. Part of her felt the tenderest love for what would be her child, and another was terrified if she was give the devil his spawn. Fear suddenly gripped her, closing her throat in its choking hold.

The beautiful, red-eyed and bloody child from her dream filled her vision, and she was hit by a wave of nausea. The Sharingan; what if the baby had the legendary doujutsu of the Uchiha clan?

What if it didn't?

Would it's father reject his own flesh and blood if it was not a prodigy as he and his brother had been? How could she protect a child from _that_, from _him_? She hadn't even been able to shield herself against him.

As much as she hated to admit it, he was under her skin. He slithered in her veins like a snake, constricting and seeping poison into her. She had to be rid of him.

Panic exploded in her mind in a bright flash, she would _not_ be hurt again. Not by him, she had _promised_ herself he would never have any pull on her ever again.

A hand flew to her flat belly. He was already inside her. Her heart beat erratically and she grew too warm in the middle of the biting evening air. He had made his way back into her last night, shooting into her very soul once again.

She craved the dark, cool emptiness she had known after he had left her. She was her own person, and had begun to be defined by herself, not as the weak link between two gifted shinobi.

Emotions had been dulled from the extremity she had felt when he was with her. Delicious apathy that let her forget how he had torn inside her, ripping and hurting as he separated from her.

He was still inside her, growing stronger and making a home in her core. Her fist clenched suddenly, leaving five jagged red lines on her stomach.

She needed him _out_ of her.

She ran. The wind howled as the lithe figure sprinted against the stinging cold toward the pharmacy. The clerk had handed her the brow paper bag with sympathetic and confused eyes as she had torn into the small store, eyes wide in fear and desperation.

The clerk knew Sakura, and had never seen her eyes so bright or her skin so pale. When she had dashed from the shop and back into the air born leaves and raindrops, the door was flung closed with so much force by the oncoming wind that the older woman flinched.

Sakura had made it into her apartment, and was sitting on her couch with a glass of water sitting in front of her on the oak coffee table. A small, white pill lay in the palm of her hand, and she seemed to only be able to stare at it, motionless.

She couldn't bring herself to do it, despite the viscously attacking her heart. The tiny, oval pill seemed too innocent to be a killer, but then again so did she.

Then a shadow appeared in her doorway. She hadn't even heard the door open and close, but she could hear Sasuke's harsh whisper, "Is this you backing out, Sakura?"

Then his gaze fell on the open bottle and glass on the coffee table as well as her wide eyes. Red spun through his eyes, making the image of the small child's own flash through her mind.

She tipped her hand, bringing the pill to her lips. But it never passed into her mouth.

The next thing she knew he was far too close for her liking, and he was snarling in a distinctly inhuman way. She did not flinch, though, she simply stared at his dark eyes.

"Don't you _dare_."

The unadulterated killer instinct in his eyes reminded her why she had been brought to buying it.

"Find some other girl, there must be plenty who would love to have your little monster. _My_ child will _not_ have _you_ for a father. Choose someone else to fuck, because I will not be your _whore_."

"So you can what, have little baby _Uzumaki's_ for the dobi instead?"

_Crack!_

Sasuke's eyes spun red in surprise, but Sakura didn't react apart from to bring her arm back down to her side as his skin flooded with red under his pale cheek. Any normal man would have been sent through the wall, but he simply stared.

"You sound almost _jealous_, Uchiha," a biting smirk spread her lips, and his eyes narrowed.

"You wish," he hissed.

She raised her eyebrow and almost laughed, "The only thing you're even capable of being jealous of is if someone had killed your brother instead of you that day."

He made no sign he had even heard her, but instead picked up the small bottle on the table, studying it.

"This is getting annoying," she gave a bark of cold laughter, "so this is the last time we shall discuss this. Either you go through with this as agreed or you back out, though I see no point in that as the job is most likely done."

"Well excuse me for being conflicted about having my child's father be a _monster_."

He took a step toward her, "As I remember it, you said you loved this monster once."

"It's true, I did say that, but the person I loved never existed," her gaze filled with hate and disgust, "I thought I saw the real you, the boy hidden inside trying to protect himself from any more pain; a man with a heart. I guess I just couldn't believe someone could be _that_ cold and dead inside."

"If you hate me so, then explain how you acted when you shared my bed, Sakura."

Her eyes had a faraway look, and she continued as if she hadn't heard him, "What I never understood was why your bonds to the people you lost were so strong that you would die to give them revenge, but no matter what Naruto and I did or said you _would not_ _care_."

She was against the wall. Rain buffeting and pounding the windows of the dark house. For such a frozen soul his skin was like fire on hers. He raised her hands above her head, holding them there with one of his own as his other ran down her side. He slid it behind the small of her back, pulling her tighter against him, hitching her higher.

When he broke the kiss the only sound she made was a gasp for breath as he moved to her jaw under her ear. When he nipped her neck wrapped her leg around his, and he immediately left her.

"That did not seem like the hate you profess, Sakura. You may think you are changed, but when it comes down to it, you aren't. Why else did you not have a lover when I came?"

"Arrogant idiot, it's called _lust_, and I could ask the same of you," oh, he got her so mad, she knew if she didn't stop she would say something she would regret in her anger, but she did not expect to say what she did next, "And just because I didn't have a lover then doesn't mean I've never had one. Did you assume you were my first that night? That I saved myself for you all these years, hoping you would return? As I said, it's called _lust_, Sasuke," as she hissed his name, his chakra flared menacingly before he reigned it in.

She did not want to have to deal with him anymore, so she turned to go up to her room, leaving him to show himself out.

"I didn't expect you to," his words were barely audible, but she could make them out, "I wanted you to move on, Sakura. You shouldn't have cared for me as you did."

She was stunned as she whipped back to face him, but was met by darkness.

He was gone.


	8. Chapter Eight: Deal With the Devil

Hey everybody, I am **so** sorry it took me this long to update. I am a horrible deadline worker, and summer has been **busy**. In the end, though, I am going to boarding school. It's relatively short, but has some good banter between Sakura and Sasuke at the end. I **will** get out a longer, new update by the time school starts. Oh, and on a road trip after I finished this I did a bit of photoshop, and....check out my homepage to see the result. I'm a novice, but I like it. :)

* * *

Training went well the next day.

Asking Sai for tips on how to keep emotions in check from his own training on the matter was beginning to look better and better to Sakura after the previous night.

Surprising herself, she had been dead to the world as soon as she hit the bed.

Tsunade-shishou had taken the morning off as Hokage to practice a new jutsu with her apprentice.

Using a single punch, Sakura could 'see' the layout of a radius varying in width with the amount of chakra used while also determining how many people stood in the space, as long as they touched the floor.

This was all done in the same way as radar in theory, but it was a wave of chakra used.

Unfortunately, it was still incomplete as any ninja near could sense the chakra pulse just as with any unshielded technique.

Sakura had pretty much gotten the idea when Naruto showed up. The only part she was having trouble with was not hitting the hitting the ground so hard it cause it to shudder.

Apparently, as Naruto informed Sakura, a certain Uchiha had been seen at a local bar that night, not leaving until he was closer to drunk than any had seen him. That wasn't saying, though, as he rarely drank at all. From the time frame, Sakura figured it was just after he had left her apartment.

"Naruto?"

"Ah, Sakura?"

She played with the tall grass, rubbing a stalk between her thumb and index finger, "Have you actually talked to him since he's been back?"

His answer was quick and abrupt, "No."

Looking up at the man she thought of as her brother almost tentatively, "Maybe you should. You were very close once."

"Teme made it very clear he no longer holds any regard for us."

Shaking her head, she forged on despite the aching in her throat. _It doesn't matter how you feel about him, Naruto deserves to have his friend back. _"No, Naruto, he has no place in his heart for _me_. You were his best friend, probably his only real friend. That bond never breaks, it can be hidden, but not broken."

The ground shook and birds squawked, leaping into the air, "SAKURA DO YOU WANT ME TO TRAIN YOU OR GAB WITH NARUTO!"

Smiling, Naruto gestured to go, shouting back, "Granny, I just came to give Sakura some tips on how to deal with you!"

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura looked up from her clipboard. Lee was running up the hospital corridor toward her, his thick eyebrows knitted in concern. She rolled her eyes, expecting what he wanted to talk to her about.

As soon as Lee came to a stop in front of her and caught his breath h opened his mouth, but Sakura cut him off, "How was your mission?"

Apparently flustered almost to tears, Lee quickly waved his hand in a dismissive manner, and plowed on, "Is it true, Sakura-chan? Has the traitor returned and claimed you as the woman to further his clan?"

She nodded.

Tears immediately began to spring from his eyes, almost flying through the air at their speed, "Such horror to be given to one so youthful! Cruel irony and the passage of time!"

Annoyed with his melodramatics, Sakura rolled her eyes once again, patted his shoulder, and turned back down the hallway, but did not get very far.

Shizune was waiting at the end of the corridor for her.

"Yes, Shizune?"

The pink pig in her arms squealed suddenly, but was quickly quieted, "Tsunade-sama wishes to council with you."

"But I saw her only a few hours ago, why couldn't she talk to me then? I have patients to take care of."

"Sasuke is with her."

That explained it.

Taking a deep breath, the pink haired medic-nin set her patient's clipboard down on a nearby counter, and followed Shizune solemnly to see her husband.

On her way to the Hokage's building, Sakura spotted Naruto and Hinata in Ichiraku's. Apparently they had decided to share, but Hinata could barely get room to dip her chopsticks while Naruto shoveled it in, not even pausing while he said, "Go on, Hinata-chan, eat."

Hinata only sighed and watched instead, setting down her chopsticks with a small smile and color on her cheeks.

_At least somebody around here's love life is going well._

Turning to the looming building, Sakura tailed Shizune's entrance, and let the cooler air claim her.

Shizune knocked on the door to her mentor's office, and when she heard a grunt of recognition, swung the door open.

As soon as the room came into view, Sakura's distinctive apple eyes alighted on Sasuke's impenetrable ones.

When he blinked, Sakura immediately broke the contact, turning to Tsunade, "You called me, Tsunade-shishou?"

Resting her ample chest on the table, her chin cupped in her hands, Tsunade nodded, "Yes. I called you to give you one more way out. Sasuke has informed me that you do not wish to bear a child with him-"

Sakura interrupted, "That's hardly the point, though, is it? Whether I wish to or not is irrelevant, yesterday's worries were simply based on anxiety about my child's future."

Finally speaking, Sasuke said gruffly, "Explain."

Her expression tightening at the command, Sakura addressed Tsunade not the man in the corner, "I merely am concerned about my _child's_ life once I no longer house him or her. Despite what the father might think, a _baby_ will be born, not a vicious, Sharingan-weilding extension of himself, atleast not if I can help it."

"I know how to take care of a child."

She turned on Sasuke, anger bubbling over…again, "Really? Do you know how to feed an infant? If it cries out in the night do you know how to soothe it with **comfort** and your presence, holding in until your **love** for it melts the fear?"

"There are others for that."

Sakura kept going, unhearing of his excuse, "Will you change diapers, because I cannot see you and your arrogance dealing with **feces**, Sasuke. When our child needs burped over your shoulder and she spits up on your precious Uchiha crest on your back, what will you do? Smile?"

"There are others for that."

Sakura scoffed, "Yesterday was because of worry for our **child**. If I am to go through with this, I need reassurance that when he or she is born she will not be trained by emotionless bastards to be a machine. I need to see **my** child. I am not emotionless, I am human, which is more than I can say for you."

At this point Tsunade simply sat back and watched the sparks fly, crossing her arms in thought.

"I was not given the indulgence of dwelling on emotions, but you cannot presume to tell me I did not have them."

"You told us yourself that day when Sai found you. You told us you had broken anything connecting you to us. That day, you began to also fray my connection to you. Now, my bond to you is also gone, but Naruto's still lingers. He still hopes for you to be the boy you were, the boy I lov**ed**. I know the truth, that the boy who was his best friend never existed, but he still wishes for the old familiarity. So, you have to promise me you will try to rekindle something with Naruto and that I will see my child whenever I want. Only then will I agree, and to hold myself to that, I will do anything you want to prove I will go through with it."

There was anger and hate in his gaze that she had only ever seen when he talked of his brother. Something in her froze at the sight of such madness directed at her, something long buried and forgotten.

"You think you know me, Sakura, but your incompetence is proved once again. I shall not even try to explain my decisions to you, you do not need to know."

This time, it was Sakura who left the room without a word, the quiet click of the door scaring them both more than if she had ripped it off its hinges.

* * *

A/N: There you go. I hope you liked it, and again, I am a terrible person for not updating until now. Sakura's anger at this point stems from her fear of falling back in love with Sasuke, and Sasuke is just being a guy. A guy who never liked to admit what he feels. It's up to you to decide whether there is anything else in him at this point or not. Plot twists coming up soon. :)


	9. Chapter Nine: Loathe or Love

Hey everyone! I wanted to make up for my extra long absence, so I wrote another chapter... with a lemon. It's kind of a filler, but it also give Sakura some well deserved relaxation. Also, this is the last chapter of Part One: Hate. Next comes Part two: Lust, and then Part Three: Love. Oh, and expect to see some characters not seen before in this story yet in the next few chapters. ;)

* * *

Shizune came to Sakura at work, in the hospital, to tell her Sasuke had agreed.

"Give the guy a chance, okay, Sakura," Shizune added hesitantly.

Sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose in weariness, Sakura whispered, "To do what? Make me fall _again_, leave _again_, and pick myself up _again_?"

"No, just…cut him a break. As he pointed out earlier, we don't know why he did what he did. You don't need to fall in love with him again, just don't be so…harsh."

Not wanting to hear any more, Sakura turned away and walked into yet another patient's room.

"Hey, Shikamaru," she said, managing a smile when she say who sat on the bed, arms crossed.

"How're you, Sakura?" The lightness in his voice when he asked her that suggested that he had just returned from a mission and had not heard of someone else's homecoming.

Brushing a hand through her hair, Sakura answered, "Ok, I guess. So what's wrong?" She scanned him quickly, and found a break in the chakra flow around his left wrist.

"Oh, it's just my wrist, Chouji fell on it."

Sakura actually giggled a bit, "Alright then, I'll just take a quick look and send you out to see Ino then," she ended with a wink.

Shikamaru actually blushed, "Well, if you insist, doctor."

Sakura laughed again. She needed to laugh.

Hovering her palm over his wrist, she easily sorted out his enflamed tissues and ligaments. When the glow around her hand faded, Shikamaru made to sit up, but she stopped him.

"No strenuous activity for that arm for a few days, Shikamaru. You hear?"

"Yeah, yeah, Sakura. How troublesome."

She smiled as he walked out of the door. _At least some things never change._

Stepping back out into the hall, Sakura made to turn into the next room, but a nurse, Ayame, stopped her.

"Hey, Sakura, Shizune told me to give you the afternoon off, ok?"

Sakura made to step past, "I would really rather keep on working, Ayame, thank you though. You know, keeping busy."

"Yes, but I think you should go relax, too," Sakura opened her mouth to retort, "She also said he wants you to be at the Uchiha estate by nightfall."

"Oh," her mouth closed, and she thanked Ayame, pivoting on her heel, a complete 180.

Maybe she did need to 'relax' after all.

One place came to mind when she thought 'relax'; the hot springs.

Her sandals slapped against the road down to the hot springs at the edge of Konoha. It was almost summer, and the sun beat on the back of her neck.

The low building that encircled the pool stretched for the last block of Konoha, right next to the farmer's market.

Parting the cut-off drapes, Sakura crossed the bamboo mats to the hostess, "One woman for the rest of the afternoon, please."

The young woman behind the desk looked up at her, "Your name, Miss?"

Sakura paused for only a second, but the notion left her head as soon as it had entered.

"Haruno Sakura."

Writing it down, the dark haired woman nodded, and stepped away from the desk, "This way please. This afternoon has been added to you existing tab, Miss Haruno."

"Thank you," Sakura couldn't remember the last time she had gone to the hot springs, but she was glad she didn't have to be hassled by bills and such.

Ushering her down a bright hallway, and sliding a door open, Sakura was shown into the women's locker room. Consciously slowing her movements as she did when she concentrated her chakra, Sakura peeled off her med-nin clothes, and took a body towel, wrapping it around her, and a head cloth from the stack.

She padded out to the fenced hot spring, and quickly unraveled the towel before slipping into the water.

Liquid poured over her skin like heaven. The temperature was too hot when she got in, but she also knew she would quickly acclimate. Only a few other women inhabited the spring, so she was able to loosen up.

Almost accidentally calming her chakra, letting it spiral in circles instead of jabbing outward, she let out a deep breath. Yes, this was exactly what she needed.

If she had gone to Sasuke that night in the state she was, she might have strangled her bed partner in his sleep. Instead, when she opened the door to the compound, Sakura was resolved.

Sasuke was sitting in a chair in the first room. She walked right past him, up the stairs, and into his room.

As she went, she felt his eyes trailing her back. When he reached the doorway to his room, Sakura was shedding her shirt, unbuttoning the front.

Curious, he watched her. The only light was the moon, but he could easily see every curve and dip of her upper body. It left him waiting for more.

Next came her skirt. Sakura bent, letting it fall to the floor. Stepping out of her shoes, she turned to face him dressed only in her bra and panties.

"What are you-"?

Sasuke was on her so fast she couldn't brace herself fast enough, and fell back onto the bed.

Not another word was said as they danced on the sheets. Sasuke relieved himself of his clothes far faster than Sakura had, and then he was back on her. Her hips bowed and arched, taunting him; his hand slipped beneath her bra, teasing her.

Soon, though, it was not enough for him, and he unfastened it quickly. She rebelled, though. This was not about her.

Sasuke seemed to think differently, though. His other hand slid dangerously low across her stomach. Her hand caught his, and she shot him a warning look. He simply smirked and continued down.

His fingers were large, and she gasped. Heat sped downward for both of them as she tipped her head back ever so slightly, fighting the urge to throw caution to the wind.

As he relented, her hips followed his hand, causing his… smirk to grow.

She'd had enough with the pride-play. Shimmying her boy shorts down her thighs and off, she tangled her limbs with his.

When he made to kiss her, she pulled away without really making the decision to, "Not on the lips."

His head ducked to her neck without retort, and for that she was thankful. She could, however, feel the smirk in his kisses in the hollow of her collarbone.

Bringing his face level with hers, she tugged his hair, "It's called lust, Uchiha," she breathed.

His eyes glittered darkly, "It's called love, and you know it."

The move was instantaneous, but instead of being away from him as he had expected, she had merely rolled them so she was straddling him. _Completely_ sitting on him.

His hands found her hips, urging her to move, but she held still, "Don't tell me _you're_ in love too then."

"Hn, yeah, right."

"Then what do you call _this_?"

Sakura swirled her hips as she bobbed up and then slowly down. Sasuke could not even reply as he was too far in ecstasy, but he did let loose a feral growl.

She leaned down to look at his not-so-unreadable features, "Lust."

He gritted his teeth as she spoke again, enjoying tormenting him for once, "Not…exactly…annoying…is it?"

His eyes opened slowly, "Wrong again."

Surprise flickered in her gaze for an instant, and then she was under him again, "You are annoyingly _slow._"

True to his word, his pace was significantly faster than hers. The bed frame creaked dangerously.

Soon enough, they both felt a rush that no drug can duplicate, and a crash that leaves the addict smiling, not crying… this time.

Panting, she wriggled from under him, "It's…called…lust…Sasuke."

He did not answer, but some one Sakura hadn't heard from in a long time did, _Tell yourself whatever you want, Outer._

End of Part One: Hate

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**A/N**: Ok, another chapter down. I'm going to sound like a mother again, because I can see how many people read the story (WOW! first off, thank you!!!), and that in proportion is not even 10% of you. Please, reviews really do inspire me to keep writing, and any ideas you have are taken into account. Any suggestions, too, as this is a story for you guys. Thanks!

~Kat


	10. Chapter Ten: Reflections on the Present

Hi everybody, enjoy!

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When she slowly dragged herself from sleep, but still to far gone to move, Sakura listened to her breathing. Content to stare and the orange light behind her eyelids, her chest rose and fell.

Only, her breathing sounded off. It echoed and reverberated in her chest, like she had two set of lungs or a twin.

It took a few minutes for her to isolate the mimicking breathing from behind her. She was conscious enough then to feel the whisper of heat that pulsed on her neck in a moist mist and the pressure on her back to which she had matched her own lung-fulls of air.

Her tendrils of subconscious chakra trailed down her side, recognizing that down her back, derriere, and les were flush with another, bigger form.

So far, Sakura had not moved an inch, so she thought him still asleep. Lethargic and content to lie there, she let Sasuke rest his head in the crook of her neck and send shivers along her spine every time her exhaled onto her skin.

She then noticed that not only were they side by side, but his arms had snaked into a possessive hold around her waist and hip. Her arm rested on his down her thigh.

A blush slowly rose up her chest and neck when Sakura grasped that they were still bare from the previous night, and shifted her hips reflexively out of awkwardness.

The breathing on her collarbone paused, and shallowed. Quickly shutting her eyes and going completely limp in the man's arms, Sakura played dead.

Her eyelashes fluttered when she felt Sasuke sigh and slips his arms from her, and roll away from her. Another minute passed while Sakura monitored her own breathing so it was slow and rhythmic before she felt her technical spouse sat up and step out of the room.

Sakura slid back into soft, soft sleep.

In the center of Konoha, the Hokage building was hit by a storm of agitated ninja. Three missing-nin had been seen not two days from the village, simply walking down the street toward them. Team Hawk they were called, but conspicuously leaderless.

There was no doubt they made for the Hidden Leaf, but the question was why. Why would wanted S-class criminals head straight toward, yes a weakened, but still an enemy village in broad daylight along the main road and forgoing all possibility of a surprise attack?

That was the question that puzzled Tsunade so early in the morning, and the question that would not be answered before near disaster.

Sakura's shower scalded her, turning her pale skin raw cherry. Not minding the sting and bite, she lay in the ivory bath, letting the droplets rain down and hiss like water snakes.

She had been around enough snakes lately, though, and she soon turned the water off.

Swirls of steam twisted off her while she ruffled her hair. It had grown a bit in the past few weeks from the severe bob she'd kept it in for many years, and she felt it was time for another visit to Ino for a hair cut.

She didn't want it getting too long. The Uchiha had too many ideas already. Not that any were close to home. At _all_.

With a tap of her finer, all of the condensation on the mirror fell to the counter in a puddle. Peering at herself in the looking-glass, Sakura wondered what he saw when he looked at her.

Mostly she thought herself plain; not ugly, but not a beauty either. Her eyes were the feature she liked the best as her hair was just an annoyance. The bright apple green appealed to her in contrast with her odd hair and dark lashes. Her nose was not conspicuous or cute, but simply…average. Her mouth was not as plump as it had been when she was fourteen, but still held its cupid's bow and flush of youth.

She was after all, eighteen.

What Sakura didn't see, couldn't see, was that she was anything but plain. How could a girl with hair the color of a sunrise and eyes like a new spring bud be _plain_?

The peak of her color contrasted deeply with the dark looks of her bedmate. What she was unable to see because of her fear of inadequacy captivated him more than he would have permitted…could he help it. Same could be said of her to him, but he knew he was attractive. He simply couldn't give a shit.

If anything his appearance served both a frustration and gift as he looked too much like some of his relatives for his liking, but at the same time, he was the image of an Uchiha male.

Oh, what things a looking-glass could say, what pictures it could paint. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. The one hidden with his headband in the hidden room filled with Uchiha heirlooms, however, would leave many speechless.

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**A/N:** I know, I know, TOO short, but it just felt right to end it here. Hey, you got some good sasu/saku stuff though! Next one promises to be extra long, though, and I have it mostly planned out so it wont be long. Ta-ta for now! ;)

~Kat


	11. Chapter Eleven: Criminal Blood

Hallo again. :) Hope this is enough to satisfy you for now.

* * *

Red. That was all she could see.

No, she was not angry, but she was scared.

Sakura stood, leaning against the counter, back to the mirror she had been looking at. In the shadow of her towel, a drop of thick blood fell with a sticky splat next to another. Then another.

Her eyes were wide. How was it possible that she was having her period? Sasuke had not withdrawn once before…she was sure. Why would he? He had taken her almost every night for over a week. _How?_

She was young, and none of the women in her family had problems with bearing children. In fact, the opposite could be said.

The only answers she could think of were that either she was infertile or he was. She wasn't sure which was worse.

If he couldn't have an heir, Kami knew what he would do. Not to mention that everything she had been through was for nothing. If s_he_ couldn't, there was no doubt to her he would take another and Sakura would never have a baby.

She'd always assumed she would have a child one day. Not as soon as this, but all the same.

Let alone how her own heart ached: how was she supposed to tell Sasuke?

Sakura filed the test anonymously. She put the expedition sticker on the tube of her blood. If there was a problem, and it was with her, this would find out. If it was not with her… she would get to that if it came to it.

She'd taken the blood herself, tying the rubber band around her arm with one hand and her teeth. It was odd how warm the plastic was in her hand when she held it.

Sakura hadn't even told Tsunade or Ino, and it would only gross out Naruto even more than the thought of his teammates "acting like Pervy-sage every night" already did.

The thought made her smile. Naruto, that is, not how she spent her nights. Of coarse not.

Feeling very aware of the cotton between her legs, Sakura went about her day. Tsunade had asked her to help her for the next few days. Something about some visitors from another nation staying for a while.

Not even Sakura was told who might be coming to Konoha, which led her to believe they were either from Cloud or Mist Countries. Any others would be welcomed as allies. Except Sound, of coarse.

Sakura paused as the thought passed through her mind, but she shook herself mentally. They couldn't be from Sound.

_Why not?_

Again, that annoyingly familiar voice had reappeared as it occasionally did ever since he'd returned.

**I don't need you. Go away, Inner.**

_Who else would keep you honest?_

Then it was gone, she could feel it. She sighed deeply. Part of her training of the years was to rid herself of her dual personality. She knew that if she could unite herself she would be so much stronger, maybe even strong enough to rival the Uchiha or Naruto. Maybe.

Who knew what the pink haired kunoichi could do? After all, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

"Sakura-chan."

She turned, and smiled one-sidedly, "Ichigo, how are you? Not too busy I hope."

The large man was head of the interrogation unit. Enough said. Luckily, Sakura had never had to work with him as an ANBU. She had been given the training, but never had the cause to put it into practice.

"Ah, ok. Frankly I think I have the better job right now."

She raised an eyebrow, cocking a hip to the side, "Oh really? How so?"

The stoic Ichhigo actually hesitated, "You know, the whole betrothal deal your family made with the Uchihas before the massacre."

Sakura stared blankly, "Excuse me?"

Blindly stumbling on, he spoke, "Yeah, you know, that whole document thing? It was pretty damn convenient for the Uchiha, allowing him to return to Konoha to marry you. He could come back under one condition: to uphold the contract his late relatives and yours made."

Obviously thinking this information trivial, Ichigo said it all very lightly, as if he was relaying something Naruto had done to look like a fool. If Ichigo would partake in such idle chatter that is.

"When was this contract made?" Sakura's tone was casual, but even Ichigo caught the needles of ice in the aftertaste.

He shifted his weight before continuing, "When you were both small. Originally it was set to be you and his older brother, but it was changed when you showed interest in Sasuke as a child."

If it had been to Itachi, she would have been fine. He was dead by his brother's own hand. The predicament she was in was her own fault. Her fault for seeing something in the damned teme that wasn't there.

As suddenly as if someone had jabbed her vegas nerve in her neck, Sakura the kunoichi, crumpled in a dead faint.

Once again, Sakura gained consciousness with the after-image of bright green eyes shifting to angry spinning crimson. When she opened hers to escape the eyes, she found an identical pair staring down at her.

She slapped him away, and made to sit up. She was in a bed. A hospital bed.

"Sakura-chan! You're awake!" Naruto's unmistakable shout of glee accompanied his words.

"Naruto…" she said softly, blinking a bit, "shut up."

She heard a snigger from the foot of the bed, but avoided Sasuke's eyes.

"I feel like I have a hangover."

Heels clicked against the tile floor, "You hit you head against the wall when you fell. We checked over your chakra to make sure you were okay."

"Am I?"

"Yes, you are."

"How long was I out?"

"Only a couple of minutes, but Ichigo ran you over here as soon as you went out. Amazing how news travels in this town."

Naruto smiled mischievously. Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Sakura," Tsunade began, waiting for Sakura to return her attention to her mentor, "when I was checking your chakra, I found a small bundle of heated chakra around your abdomen. Thinking you had hurt it when fell, I went ahead and did a more extensive inspection," Tsunade stopped and looked at them expectantly. No one said a word, "You are pregnant, Sakura."

Sakura's eyes widened, and she didn't dare look over at Sasuke.

"How…" Sakura murmured, and Naruto flushed instantly, "No, no, I just mean. Well, I'm on my period right now so I don't understand how that could…"

Sasuke was immediately bearing down on her, "When _exactly_ were you planning on telling me?"

Sakura's eyes narrowed, "You were gone when I got up this morning, and I didn't know where you were. I went to take a test to see if something was wrong. Obviously not."

Tsunade forcefully pushed Sasuke back, and his gaze flicked to the Hokage and decided to back off. He continued to stare at Sakura, though. Sakura returned the contact.

"Well, two things could cause you to bleed, Sakura. One would be if the coitus was overly rough and the residual hymen broke," Naruto, who had just regained his regular facial color, flicked to deep purple like a light switch, and visibly moved toward the door, "or if the implantation of the fertilized egg into your uterus wall broke up some of the tissue. It is likely your body was already preparing for a period when you were impregnated."

Tsunade was obviously in doctor mode.

Sakura's gaze had turned to Naruto as soon as he had moved, and she smiled slightly. He had the strangest expression she had ever scene. Disgust, joy, and mischievousness battled for dominance.

Joy won.

As soon as his face settled into a huge grin that turned his whiskers vertical, he bellowed, "**Believe it!**"

Tsunade rolled her eyes. Sasuke didn't react. Sakura blinked.

"Can I go home now, then?"

Sakura wanted some time to digest. Alone.

"No."

It was said simultaneously. Naruto looked confusedly between Sasuke and Tsunade. Sakura only looked at Tsunade expectantly. It was like she hadn't even heard Sasuke.

"I want you to stay here tonight. You haven't fainted in years, and there must be a reason you did now."

"I know why," Sakura interrupted.

"Oh?"

"I know about the agreement. How Sasuke picking me was no accident."

She spoke as if he wasn't in the room, and it obviously annoyed him.

"Oh."

"**WHAT?**"

Tsunade sighed as she turned to face Naruto, "Later."

Naruto grumbled, but did not protest.

Sakura laughed silently for a second.

Her emotions were beginning to swirl. Happiness, fear, anger, exhaustion, frustration were but a few.

Tsunade saw it with her medic's eyes, and said, "Time for us to go."

When she and Naruto were at the door, Sasuke was still beside Sakura, who lay on the covers with an odd expression.

"Sasuke, you too," Tsunade's voice held a threat, "Let her rest, question later."

It took another minute for him to budge, but he followed Naruto out the door. Sakura could hear Naruto prattling away at Sasuke as the door closed. Sasuke answered.

Good, he was keeping to the agreement.

Sakura closed her eyes and simply listened to the silence. Unconsciously, a low smile pulled the corners of her mouth. A baby. Her baby. His baby.

Her hand fell to her flat stomach, disbelieving that a life might be starting there. What her baby a girl or a boy?

Somewhere outside her door, someone yelled. At first Sakura thought a patient had done soemthing, but the resounding bang that resounded into her room and the lights flickering off made her think otherwise.

On instinct, Sakura rolled out of bed, doing a simple replacement jutsu to recreate herself on the bed.

Feet blocked out the light from beneath the door. So her room was the only one without power then.

The door swung open silently. Wide steps crossed to the bed where she appeared to be sleeping.

"She there?" A girl asked from the doorway, and the other in the room simply grunted, "Asleep?"

Another grunt.

"Then who's hiding under the bed, Jugo?" The female asked mockingly. In a flash a Sakura was engulfed in a glove of water that rose from a puddle. A puddle!

Disregarding the impossibility, she quickly took care of the water, and scampered to the doorway, where the woman was. Sakura quickly punched the girl through the wall and made for the hall. Just too late, though, she saw more water seep from under the next door on her right. The next thing she knew, cold metal rested against her neck.

"Pink, really? Huh, and I thought I had cool hair."

She looked down at the blade at her throat, and realized it was no shruiken or knife, but a humungous sword. Sakura brought back her elbow up and under her attacker's rib cage.

He wheezed and melted, leaving her drenched in water. Sopping, Sakura made to run, but found her way blocked.

By Sasuke.

His gaze was as angry as she'd seen it. She heard racing footsteps behind her, but knew that she had no chance to defeat all of them together. To her surprise, though, Sasuke appeared in front of her in a way reminiscent of that day on their first mission as Team 7.

"Sasuke?"

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Sasuke?"

The Sasuke-kun came from the girl. Sakura rolled her eyes when she saw the way she looked at him, "You've _got_ to be kidding me."

She walked in front of Sasuke. As soon as she saw the look in that girls' eyes, she knew who they were. They were Team Hawk.

"What do you want?"

The red-haired girl spoke, but not to Sakura, "Why are you defending her, Sasuke-kun?"

Sakuras eyes narrowed at being ignored, and she made to step forward again, but Sasuke's arm barred her way, "No, Sakura."

Sakura snorted, and wriggled past his arm, "Yeah, right," she walked up to the three and said, "He doesn't care, so just go home from whatever rescue you're planning. Trust me, just go home."

Oh the irony.

* * *

**A/N:** Answers to a lot of questions SasuSaku fans have been craving for so long are going to be answered (my way at least) and Karin and Sakura get off to a bad start. ;)


	12. Chapter Twelve: Ironic Passing

Hey, guess what? I promise you that by Friday the next chappie will be up.

* * *

Sakura could feel Sasuke's eyes boring into her back at her words. The huge man before her with fiery hair cocked his head slightly with a curious expression. The one with the sword smiled, baring his pointed teeth. The girl just sniffed and glared harder.

"Why are you here?" Sasuke spoke commandingly.

The red-head ran to Sasuke, embracing him. Sakura raised an eyebrow and smirked. It was sad, really, the way fate worked.

"We came because we heard about this _thing_, "she spat, "with Konoha that forced you to stay with this little girl," she sneered, "We wanted to help." She looked down her nose at Sakura. Sakura simply watched, one eyebrow still raised.

How much more obvious and pathetic can you get?

Sasuke shrugged the girl off.

"Karin, you said she was ugly and scrawny. She looks pretty cute to me," it was the sword-boy who spoke. Sakura's other eyebrow raised.

"Ok, Sasuke, you deal with your team, this is just stupid and _annoying_."

The other girl, the one with glasses, blinked, "Annoying-?"

Something seemed to click in the girl's head, and she made to grab Sakura by the neck, but Sasuke was in her place, shielding Sakura behind him.

"Don't touch her, Karin," his Sharingan were spinning.

Karin's mouth was a perfect 'o'.

"Excuse me, but Sasuke, what is going on?" It was the large man with orange hair.

Sasuke sighed, "Sakura is pregnant with my heir."

Sakura wrenched herself away, "_Your-"_

"_Your __**what**__? Her? We came here to save you from some stupid family tie thing that Konoha had made up to get you back, and this, this little__** bitch**__ is pregnant?"_

"Karin, shut up if you know what's good for you," water-boy was watching Sasuke's eye spin faster warily.

Shoving past Sasuke again, Sakura nodded to them saying, "Great to meet you. This really was quite…interesting, bye-bye."

"Sakura," it was Sasuke's cold voice, "stay here. Let's get this done now."

She saw his point, but acquiescing to his edict set a precedent she didn't like. She settled by standing across from Sasuke against the wall with her arms crossed, in between Sasuke and his supposed rescuers.

"So," she began, but was cut off.

"Shut up, this has nothing to do with you, whore," once again, the tactlessness with which the girl with glasses spoke nearly caused a few broken bones from another certain kunoichi.

Sakura closed her eyes, and Karin's opened wider as she felt the raging chakra beneath the surface. In a voice almost as icy as Sasuke's, Sakura hissed, "Call me a whore, bitch, or whatever one more time, and you'll be lucky to already be in a hospital. If you have to talk to me at all, my name is Sakura, but you can call me Haruno."

Suigetsu was dripping water…from his mouth. Which immediately stopped when he caught Sasuke glaring at him.

"If you wanted an heir, Sasuke, you didn't have to come back here."

Something in Sasuke seemed to snap, "What, Karin, would you have done? Born me a child yourself?"

She blushed the color of her hair.

Sakura had heard enough, she was actually beginning to feel a bit nauseous. She wasn't sure whether it was morning sickness or the idea that had just been brought up.

"Ok, well, I don't see why I need to be here, so…" She pushed off of the wall, but was tugged back as she made to leave. She grasped his hand, pulling his wrist closer, pressing on the nerve pocket at the base of the thumb, "No, Sasuke, you have to deal with your team. You owed us that."

As she broke through the small ring, Suigetsu shouted, "I knew it!"

"Knew what?" she assumed it was the tall man who spoke as she was walking away.

"She's _her_."

**A/N:** I had so much fun writing this!


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Falling

Hey everybody, thanks for sticking with me during my taciturn updating, but here you go!

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She paused, one hand on the door handle. _Her?_

Sakura turned on the spot almost too fast for even Sasuke's eyes to catch. So, in that millisecond, she caught his glare at the water-boy before he had swiped his face clean.

Sasuke closed his eyes, "Yes, Suigetsu, she was my team-mate during my time here."

Suigetsu's brows creased slightly, and he looked like he was trying to form words, but that was enough for Sakura. She gave a biting snap of laughter like thunder, and left.

The streets were deserted, and the moon hung heavy and fat in the sky. For a minute, Sakura only gazed at the pearly orb, but its silence soon aggravated her.

_Damnit, even the moon reminds me of him._

Literally baring her teeth at the object, it seemed to stare right back with circling rings threaded with tomos. Shuddering for a second with the image that reminded her of yet another Uchiha. One who had a morbid objective for the thing.

"Damn them. Damn them all."

The wind picked up, whipping the store-front curtains horizontal. Sakura vanished with a swirl of smoke. No one was there to see the lone drop of water splat against the dirt when the gust let up.

This time, she had left _him_ in the lion's den.

She didn't go far, though. Sakura would never give him the satisfaction of that. No, she went to the isolate meadow high above the Hokage's Mountain where Naruto had learned the Rasengan. Only having been there a handful of times before, she made a few wrong turns along the way.

Little did she know that Sasuke had asked Karin to track her scent, so her blunders actually helped her to stay hidden for a small while longer.

When the trees broke, and the dark sky opened, Sakura saw with dismay that the pounding waterfall was far from it's peak.

Even this late in the season it poured greatly over the cliff face down to the pool below with enough force to raise a spiraling mist at the base. It was like comparing washed-out pink to vibrant red.

Red like Sasuke's eyes. Red like that girl's hair. Pink like… pink like…

Sakura stripped down to her spandex shorts and bindings, leaving her clothes strewn across the bank of the water. She climbed.

She didn't intend to kill herself, but that's what would have happened if she had jumped with the falls at their peak.

Instead, when she reached the top, she was confidant in the exhibition. No part of her was weak, no cell in her body inferior to his. She believed it, now he just had to understand how to treat humans.

The moon watched with bated breath from below and above.

Sakura jumped.

With a last gulp of air, she left her streamlined body merge with the rushing water. It carried her down to the bottom, but also cushioned her landing. Folds of liquid caught her when she sank to the bottom, pushing off and up, angling away from the water pounding on her back.

To Sasuke, who had just emerged from the tree line having followed her chakra trail there, her dive had looked disturbingly like an angel's fall from heaven. His Sharingan eyes could watch her form in slow motion as she sliced through the clear water.

He would have been angry at the display, but was taken off guard by the performance at the same time. Instead, he waded in to where she was standing by the bank, up to her waist in water, her back turned.

Sakura felt his hand reach forward to her stomach as she faced away from him. When he made contact with her belly, he breathed, "It doesn't look like it, does it, but he's in there."

She was painfully aware of how close he was and the way his words fanned across the back of her neck. Her irritation at herself turned on him, "What makes you think it's a he?"

In a flash, she was facing his red eyes. She didn't even have time to gasp.

His wondering, relatively docile tone was gone, replaced by cold, icy jabs, "Don't _ever_ call him an _it_."

Her eyes widened, and she couldn't even nod.

He gripped her shoulders so hard that if she had been more prone to bruising she would be capped in black and blue, "Do you understand me, Sakura."

The pain wiped away the surprise, "And why would you care what I call _it_, Sasuke?"

He stepped away, seeming to realize his own display, "I don't. You just seemed so set on being the caring mother."

"Well one parent and a robot is better than two robots."

The air seemed to have visibly chilled since his appearance, and Sakura hated the fact that she was shivering.

"What makes you so sure I can't be… human if there's _reason_ to be?"

She raised an eyebrow in disbelief, tensing her muscles so they stopped spasming, "I don't think you can even _pretend_ to be human. The most human thing about you is most animal thing we are; lustful."

"I'll show you emotion," but the dull tone in which he said it made her doubt he would.

He stepped forward purposefully and pushed his mouth onto hers. His tongue slipped into her mouth while she simply stood, and his right hand twined in her hair, pulling it taught. His other was palming the underside of her bra.

When he brought his head back up, she was staring, unimpressed, up at him, "Lust."

His eyes spun at her remark, but he stopped it and closed his eyes; his grip on her changed.

His hand moved from her chest to hold her neck, angling it toward him lightly. His other encircled her waist easily while he brushed his lips against the underside of her jaw.

His touch was light and gentle, as if she were a bird that might fly off any second. His broad torso encased hers, enveloping her. He moved to the corner of her mouth, barely touching her, but instilling sensations he hadn't before.

He waited for her to make the next move, and she didn't disappoint him because as soon as he paused, she turned slightly so that his mouth fully caught hers.

The kiss stayed chaste for a time, but as soon as the arm he'd draped around her began to trace patterns along her back, dipping dangerously low, she arched into him and the charade was gone.

His arms immediately pulled her harder to him, and a hand urged her thigh around his hip while he stepping into a more intimate stance between her legs.

The change made her gasp, and this time she responded when his tongue found hers. Her fingers tugged at the hairs at the nape of his neck, pulling him closer, too. Sakura's chest rose an fell rapidly, stroking his chest with hers.

His reaction to her returned embrace became evident when she pressed her second leg around him, beginning to grind against his hips. Her pace was too easy for him, though, as he backed her up against the cliff face, and began his own.

When she began to pull at his shirt, he seemed to remember himself, and immediately pulled away. They separated only long enough to unclothe, though, and then she was pinned to the rock again.

There was no pain anymore when he entered her, it had long passed. Her only displeasure was when she was close to release, and he stopped for a second, pulling away and watching her. She opened hers, and by the time her gaze found his and she remembered her surroundings, he was back on her.

Even as ninja, they were both exhausted when they reached the gates to Konoha again. When Sakura made to turn toward her apartment, Sasuke simply tugged her wrist, redirecting her.

In her residual surprise of what had just happened despite its not being necessary any longer, she let him.

As soon as she got the message, though, he released her, keeping space between them on the walk back to the Uchiha estate.

When she looked over at him, he partially let down his mask, and she saw a trace of fear and frustration in the tightness in his jaw and furrow in his brow.

She did not let herself look long, though, and quickened her gait. She had shown too much already, let alone him catching her ogling him.

_Damage control_, she thought.

"Told you, lust is all you have."

He only 'hn-ed' and that wasn't enough for her, so she baited him further, "You can pretend, Sasuke, and you can fool my baby, but you will never fool me. Not again. Will you even be able to feel for you own child as anything more than a goal fulfilled?"

He stopped, but she kept on going, "Sakura," he said dangerously. She walked on.

"If I hadn't cared about my family why would I have fought for revenge? I can form bonds. I can care."

She didn't even roll her eyes, "You've never cared about anyone but yourself."

"You may be older, Sakura, but you haven't gotten smarter. You still can't _think_. What's the point in caring? All it does is give enemies the ability to hurt you."

"The point is being human, you idiot. You may be older but you still can't _move on_."

Sasuke sighed, "I was going to say the same about you."

She stepped forward, "You're wrong. I left my love for you behind a long time ago."

He nodded, "Yes, but you didn't leave you resentment, your bitterness."

"Did you just call me bitter, Uchiha?"

"Yes, _Uchiha_, I did."

She flinched, sneering, "I'm no Uchiha."

"Yes, you are. You were the one who demanded to be married when I said we didn't have to be."

"Well if you hadn't come back here I could be out on missions with the rest of my friends instead of being left behind," she wouldn't let him see her cry.

He saw the water in her eyes anyway, "They'll be back, and I…I'm here."

The fact that he was comforting her stilled her anger, "For now."

She turned away and opened the gate to he house.

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**A/N**: Ok, ope nobody is too disappointed with me over the whole _her_ thing, but notice that Sasuke jumped in before anybody else could and she left before anyone could even think of correcting him. Then again, that could be it, just a teammate. Karin would have come looking for Sakura in a tyrade if there had been anything else. We all know who would win that fight. ;) Thank you guys for the great reviews, and for those who give insights and criticisms especially. I love to know what you think about my writing.

~Kat


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Lust Never Love

Hey everybody, hope your school year (or work-year) is going well. Im successfully moved, so now updates should be more frequent. :) Voila:

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"Naruto, just because I coughed doesn't mean I have morning-sickness," I sighed exasperatedly.

He harrumphed but stayed quiet for once before he began chattering again. We were waiting for Kakashi under the shade of the first row of trees in the training fields with Sai, who just sat ramrod straight and observed us.

"I can't believe _you_ are pregnant with teme," Naruto looked equal parts irritated and incredulous with just a hint of jealousy.

"What makes it unbelievable; the fact that he picked _me_ for the job or that I agreed?"

"Both," he shouted, and Sai just looked on with a crease between his brows.

I shifted from sitting folded on my shins to lying back against the rough bark behind me. The sun shone at just the right angle so the light that filtered through the leaves was palest green and fell in pretty, dappled patterns.

I played with the light on the feathery grass, coiling my fingers as if I was capturing it.

A shadow fell over my light, and the unconscious smile on my face melted slightly, but then froze reflexively and jerked up again as I saw who had joined us before I forced it down.

Sasuke. I would never get used to him being here, and being so utterly… grown up from the boy I'd known.

"What are you doing here?"

He was addressing me; he never addressed me unless it was absolutely necessary. I tilted my head, "Kakashi," I'd taken to using as few words as possible with him partly because I wanted to give a taste of his own medicine and mostly because if I talked too much I let the softer tone enter my voice.

I blamed it on the maternal hormones that had to be coursing through my veins, and especially since my subconscious registered him as the father of my child. It wasn't because I was in love with him or anything.

I'd thought long and hard about Sasuke, and realized that it couldn't be love I felt for him. It was different from what I'd born as a child toward him. It was darker, hungrier, angrier, and more painful.

Simple lust not love; never love.

Seeming to have understood, he said no more and simply sat a little in front of me and facing Naruto.

Naruto got a huge grin on is face, and I cringed as I felt what was coming next, "Teme, how do you like the name Miro for a girl?" Not as bad as I'd expected, but still not great.

"Naruto, I just found out last week. Give it time."

"Well, you must have _some_ idea whether you think he/she's a boy or a girl, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. I think she's a girl."

I heard a short growl, "This is the first I'm hearing of it." I shrugged, "It will be a boy," he finished.

I didn't look at him when I spoke, my anger roused as only he could, "Why are you so sure?"

"My first child will be a boy."

Two things got me going now. My yes narrowed, "_First?_ And, what, girls aren't good enough for you?"

I could feel his eyes seeking mine, "Yes, _first_, I assumed you understood that. Children die; especially ninja children, and I must ensure my clan's future. And yes, boys are better than girls. A girl cannot fight as well as her male peer could, even my daughter. The first will be a fighter and the second a mother of more Uchihas."

Naruto took in a quick breath, and from the corner of my eye I saw him shaking his head fervently at Sasuke.

Since Naruto had started growing his hair out a couple months ago, it had grown so that his blond spikes fell cutely to the sides and two locks of hair framed his face. He reminded me of someone, but then I remembered my situation.

I stood.

"Fight me."

I glared down at him, and he simply stared back at me.

"Now."

"No, and if my presence angers you so, I will leave so as not to hurt him," I balled my fists, and glared at him, tilting my head when he stood to go, "Though I must say, you didn't seem to mind my proximity last night."

My eyebrows soared, and Naruto turned a shade somewhere between burgundy and green. I very nearly stomped my foot, but stopped myself so I wouldn't create another crater in the training fields.

"Damnit, Sasuke, you're annoying!"

There was silence for a minute until Kakashi materialized on a tree branch and asked, "What's up?"

I rolled my eyes and disappeared.

When I got home, I'd begun to calm down from the flash fire of ire. Now, though, I had to escape the tears.

"Sakura?"

It was Ino. We hadn't spoken much since new had spread that I was pregnant with her old crush's child.

"Hi," I whispered. I noticed my eyes blurring slightly and knew I had to get inside soon.

"I just wanted to talk to you about… you know… stuff," she was looking pointedly at my belly.

"Not now, Ino, please."

She took one look at me and opened the door to my house, "Now is perfect," and walked in.

I sighed and followed her in. She was sitting in her spot on my couch, one leg over the other. I curled my knees under me as I sat, and grabbed a throw pillow to squish.

After an awkward minute she sighed and said, "I liked Sasuke before, and it always angered me that it was _always_ you with him. It took me a while to realize when he came back you didn't go looking for it and just played the martyr."

"_Ha, _you wanted to be in my place? I would give anything to have what you have: a boyfriend who loves you," she blushed when I said that about Shikamaru, "to be naturally pretty, have killer blonde hair, and have such a tightly bound team."

She rolled her eyes, "You really don't see your life clearly, do you?" I stared at her quizzically, my unshed tears receded, "Sakura, remember that day in the chunin exam when Sasuke woke up after that guy beat you up? He didn't ask who hurt me or Naruto or Lee or anybody else. He asked you, and then he went scary on his ass."

This time I rolled my eyes, "Naruto couldn't have exactly answered, could he? Besides, he was just looking for a reason to be mad. You saw his chakra."

"Fine, then what about the night he left?"

"I told you that when I was drunk, and I said I never wanted to talk about that again, Ino."

"Well maybe if you had you would have actually understood when he said thank you that night."

"What, what did it mean? Thanks for the confidence booster? Thanks for being such a limpet? Thanks for being annoying yet again and following me? Thanks for… thanks for… I don't know how the hell his mind works! Besides, what does any of that matter now, that was a long time ago."

She shook her head but remained silent, "Yeah, it was, but not to you. You never really processed any of it. Now, you're forced to. Besides, it may not really matter to me or Kiba or Chouji, but it matters to you. You say I'm pretty? Hun, you're the one who's been called Konoha's most eligible bachellorette. Your forehead fits your face now, and your eyes make any girl jealous. Besides, you're tiny, and all guys love that. Don't even play; you're just as much of a shock to the system to him as he is to you. Especially with your strength," she smirked as we both thought back to our last match, "And no matter what you think, you three are so damn important to each other that its almost unhealthy."

"Almost? Ino, if there's one thing that can be said about us, it's that our triangle isn't healthy. What makes it worse is now Naruto is in the middle of Sasuke and I, which I don't like at all. I just want him to be happy."

"But not Sasuke?"

I paused with my mouth open, about to give a very snarky reply, but the knowing look in her eye made me stop, "Well, I just… I just am done trying to make him happy. It doesn't work, and I don't even know if he can be. He had his chance."

"But what if he was trying to protect you? If you thought he loved you, you would never have moved on, and both you and Naruto would be in even more danger if anyone found out."

"That's a big if. Besides, I don't think he ever did."

She had no reply to that, so we sat in a staring match for a couple minutes.

"Why do you care, anyway?" I asked her.

"Because you're my best friend, and you help me out with my issues with Shikamaru…"

I interrupted her, "That's different."

She kept on going, "And if you don't trust my assessment that he _did_ care for you and Naruto, then ask _him_."

There was a knock at the door.

I stood, welcoming the disturbance. It was Naruto.

"Hey Ino, hey Sakura," he just walked on in.

"Yes, Naruto, and why are you back so early?"

He shrugged, "Sai was making me uncomfortable."

Ino and I raised our eyebrows, but he did not elaborate.

"So why are you here?"

He looked kind of embarrassed, but he sat anyway, "I kinda wanted to talk to you… about teme."

I threw my hands into the air, "What is this, Gang Up On Sakura Day?"

Naruto looked to Ino, and she nodded, "Oh, oops."

"Well, Naruto, what would you like to say to me about Sasuke?"

"Umm, I kinda wanted to make a deal.

I was getting sick of all of these deals with people very fast. Deal with Sasuke to have his kid if I get to see it and he reconnects with Naruto. Now a deal with Naruto about…

"About?"

He let it all out in one breath, "Givehimanotherchanceandtalkwithhimlikeyouusedto."

"Why?

He grinned, "For me?" My expression didn't change, so he changed tacks, "So your kid won't have a messed up childhood like me?"

I sighed, he had a point.

"Has Sasuke agreed to play nice, too?"

"Umm, not yet, but he will!"

"You get him to, and I'm up for it. No romance or dating or anything just talking and hanging out, right?"

"Yeah, sounds good," he was smirking in a way reminiscent of a painting I'd seen of the Kyuubi and scarily similar to another male I largely disliked.

"Oh, God, get out. Both of you," and I closed the door behind them as I shoved them out of my house.

I fell back onto the sofa, and looked down at my flat stomach, "You better appreciate what I'm doing for you, Miro."

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**A/N:** Well, wht did you think? Please let me know! Reviews make me write!!!! ~Kat


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Unwanted Attachment

**Hey I'm sooo sorry (again) for the lateness. I'm not going to bother with the excuses, just let you read the longest chap yet. Hope you like ;)**

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Of coarse, Naruto completely disregarded her condition of the… friendship attempt having any romantic leanings.

According to Ino, that had been Sasuke's only pet peeve about the idea as well. Naruto was unable to keep anything a secret, so both of them knew what he had planned for them.

The reason why Naruto and Hinata never officially got together became glaringly obvious to Sakura; he had horrible ideas for dates.

Locking Sasuke into his house **all day** was **not **a bright idea, and especially when chakra-linked to Sakura for the twenty-four hours. It was a technique often used by parents or prison wardens to keep one party stuck to the other.

Oh yes, brilliant.

The two prepared for the close quarters by spending zero time together. Since that night at the waterfall they had not even spoken.

Sakura had silently settled on Miro for the name if it was a girl. She had not a clue what to name him if it was a boy.

Her stomach was just beginning to show a bit; her small waist was taut and the skin on her belly was slightly shiny.

Being barely two months, it was a little early, but she took it to mean that her baby was healthy and strong. Unless someone was looking for a bump or she had her shirt off, it was unnoticeable.

She often found herself checking the small bundle of chakra that would be a tiny human in seven months.

It turned out that she was barred from going on other missions until the baby was born. There was no way she would be harmed; he would not allow it.

The elders sat in the round room as Danzou spoke. Despite his low standing after the truth about him came out and the disbanding of ROOT, he was the one with the new information on a rogue ninja of the sand.

Tsuchi of the Sand had been in and out of mental hospitals in Kazekagure since the rookie 12 in the defeat of the Akatsuki's plan had rescued him.

Now, he had escaped, and he had hostages. He had one demand. Bring him the woman who saved him, who restored his chakra and told him he was good, it wasn't his fault.

She was the only one he would talk to. Otherwise, Temari and Kankuro would die at the hands of a madman.

When the sun set and Naruto met Sakura at her apartment, she challenged him with her pent of frustration, "What the hell do you think you're doing, shutting us up? We'll kill each other, not become friends!"

"No, you won't. You two just need to yell a bit," was his chipper reply.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "We've done that, Naruto, a lot."

"No, not a yelling _fight_ but each of you clear the air. One first, then the other."

"Then why the chakra link and time requirement?"

"So you have to get _everything _out there, even the stuff you don't want to say."

Great, just what she wanted, a heart to heart with the man who had a weird way of appealing to it. It was like wanting to protect a rabid pit-bull that kept attacking her.

"You're an idiot."

"At least you both agree on something," he said with a smile.

It was then that Sasuke joined them by opening the door to Sakura's living room, not saying a word.

"Ne, Sasuke, you took a while, right, Sakura?"

"Not long enough," she answered, and Naruto sent her a disapproving glance.

"Now, both of you, here," and he handed them both rings. Sakura looked at hers with confusion.

"What are we supposed to do with these?"

But Sasuke had already slipped his on, and once Sakura did the same, she felt a pull.

"Lovely," was her mumbled reply to the odd sensation. It wasn't unfamiliar, though, it was the same magnetic feeling that she'd had towards Sasuke before he left. Now there was a physical reason for it apart from her delusions.

Sasuke seemed to dislike the feeling much more than Sakura's simple annoyance, though, as he rounded on Naruto, attempting to pull the ring off.

"Naruto," he growled, but Sakura sent him a glare and cleared her throat, reminding him of their deal. He softened his tone, "There is no need for the binding; we won't go anywhere."

Naruto just answered, "Sakura will explain."

One of Sasuke's brows rose a bit as Naruto left. Sakura explained in as few words as necessary, "He wants us to hear the other's story. Tell_ everything._"

"That's ridiculous, we'll just end up shouting again."

"That's what I said."

"Idiot."

_That's what I said_. Maybe Ino was right, maybe I am like him. Oh _hell_ no. If so, then she'd better change fast.

She fell into the armchair with a sigh, but Sasuke just stood there. When the silence became tense, Sakura picked up a book.

"So…"

Sakura looked up, "What?"

"Should we talk?" It was the first time in years she'd heard the Uchiha unsure.

Sakura went back to her book, "I really don't feel like fighting right now, Sasuke."

Sasuke appeared in front of her before she could react, and the book was nowhere in sight, "Then don't annoy me, Sakura."

Neither broke the stare, and silence reigned again. Slowly, Sakura folded her arms across her ribs, and adjusted herself so that she was further from where he crouched before her.

"Fine, but you first."

The tendon in Sasuke's jaw twitched, but he sat back as well, and closed his eyes.

"I'm not going to repeat myself, and I won't go into what you already know," he paused, and reopened his eyes, but they held a far off look, "I left for power. It's that simple. I explained all of that at Oorochimaru's hideout. My course was as steady and driven as Naruto's, but news about how Itachi really was changed my plans. I had planned to return to Konoha after I'd killed him, but new information changed that.

Hate fuelled all."

Sakura scoffed, and Sakura's eyes flickered to her, dark and fiery, "Don't have to tell me _that_."

"Fine, then you go since you know everything about it. I am curious to know what made you such a bitch. To be honest dumb and happy was better."

Sakura pulled her chakra back from its reflexive pounce, and silently counted to ten. _Naruto you are so in for it._

"I loved you. I saw some sort of glint of light in you as a child that was snuffed out by the time I met you that time two years after you left. I hadn't given up on you then, but after that, I did. When you went to attack Danzou, and you were marked for death, I went to kill you myself. If it wasn't for Naruto, I would have at least weakened you so someone else could. I know I wasn't as good as you then.

Itachi was your person to catch up to; you were mine as well as Naruto's. You betrayed us as he did you.

I trained year round till a year ago when I was chosen for true kunoichi training; seduction missions," Sakura smirked inwardly at his flash of surprise, "I learned the techniques, but rebelled against it. I could not control my temper when a man such as that was touching me," Sasuke's finger twitched, "I snapped, and killed him one night. I was excused from then on from such missions. Until now, I guess," she chuckled darkly, but then looked back up at him, "You have _no_ _idea_ how I felt when Kakashi told me you had chosen _me_. I wanted to _kill_ you, I wanted to rip you apart and burn the pieces.

I knew you were evil, but I had no idea you were that cruel, Sasuke. Everything else in the past that I brought on myself aside, I could get past that grudge, but this. This is a whole new level of sadism."

Sakura glared, with all her strength at the man, but he just sat there.

"Why is this _so_ terrible for you? I lease you in bed, and do not require anything else of you. You will always be safe from any under me, and you are helping to revive a great clan that would otherwise be lost."

"For one thing, I _hate_ your clan, Sasuke. Look at what they've done to you, to so many. For another, do you understand how confusing this is for me?" She paused, looking down at the chakra-ring for a minute, "This feeling, this magnetic pull the ring brings, it is not unfamiliar. It has always been there for me. When you left, it was a physical pain behind my stomach. Since you've been back, and the situations I've been put in by _you_ are making me insane. If there is something feeling inside you, imagine how it feels to have your childhood love be suddenly gone and, years later, when the doors in your mind are securely locked, to have her come back. To feel her touch in a way as a child you couldn't have imagined, feeling it even though you don't want to. All the while knowing that none of this was going through the other's head, that it was simply a mission, when your _heart_ is being pulled apart by a simple, cruel truth, and to know that she will be forever linked to you by a _life_."

Sasuke got a strange look on his face for a minute. Then, his face turned stony, "You dare to insult the Uchiha clan?"

Sakura laughed a full head-thrown-back belly laugh. She clutched her sides. _I'm going insane_, she thought as she continued to laugh so hard it hurt.

Suddenly, she was against the back of the chair, pinioned my arms on her wrists, legs keeping hers still, "What are you laughing about?"

She quieted her laughing, and smiled up at him, "I bear my soul, and _that's_ what you have to say?"

"The rest doesn't matter."

She flung him off her, and crashing into the far wall. He climbed out of the rubble. She was surprised to see his eyes still a cold grey.

"Doesn't matter? What are you?"

"My feelings and yours don't matter. Only the product and what comes next matters."

Sakura punched the ground so hard a fissure cracked all the way up the house, and the floorboards rippled like water in a still pond disturbed by a stone.

"Will you just try and image where I am right now? Try?"

Sasuke stood there, unmoving. "No."

Sakura tackled him. The house crumbled. Dust filled the air, and the sounds of falling stone and wood surrounded them as Sakura held Sasuke to the floor, "What?"

"No." His eyes were still black.

"Why?" She snarled, her face a terrifying image of beauty, all angles and sharp edges and teeth.

"You do not need to know."

"I just destroyed you're house, and am very close to doing the same to your face, so I think I 'need to know.'"

"I wont fight you."

That took her aback, "Since when were you the one to back down from a fight?"

"Since the opponent is carrying my offspring."

"Don't remind me," she spat, before punching him squarely in the gut. He did not move, his breathing did not falter. He lay there, staring at her while she waited for a response. He turned his head to the side and spat a few drops of blood onto the tiles beside them.

The dust had settled, and the moon was directly above them in the sky. It was hidden by a thin veil of mist, but the light simply refracted into an eerie glow. It was a perfect night.

He would not fight back. She would not get any satisfaction from hurting him if he did not try to hit back.

This was her chance at beating her the way he had beaten her insides all her adult life, and she couldn't do it.

A thin, traitorous tear rolled to the tip of her nose before it dropped onto his cheek. He looked at her in a critical, calculating way. She sat up.

No more tears would fall.

"I don't have to imagine.

She turned back, but his face held no answers. She could find no more sense in his words than his thank 'you that' night.

"What?"

He rolled his eyes.

"Never mind, Sakura, Never mind."

Just then, her hand flew to her stomach. She'd felt something, a twitch of some sort.

"What is it?"

"I don't know."

Sakura put her hand to her stomach, searching for a blocked flow of chakra that would mean an injury. There was none, but when she pressed a little more on her midriff just above her navel. She felt it twitch again, like a muscle spasm.

"Oh," she whispered.

"What?" Sasuke was obviously frustrated by her silence.

"She kicked."

"It's too early isn't it?"

"No, I can feel her head."

Immediately, Sasuke yanked her shirt up despite Sakura's grumble. None too gently, Sasuke pressed the ball of his hand to her stomach.

"Gentle!" She reprimanded, but stopped when she felt a little explosive bump back against his hand through her.

"He's strong."

Sakura couldn't say a word. His eyes were fixed to her stomach, Sharingan spinning furiously.

Voices entered the night, "No, this 'date' does not take the precedence, Naruto." It was Tsunade.

"What happened here?" that was Naruto.

"You locked them up together, did you expect them to admit their undying love for each other?"

"Yes! You know they care about each other, Granny. You told me so yesterday!"

"Of coarse I do, but they don't know yet. Sasuke might, but Sakura doesn't."

Sakura cleared her throat.

"Sakura, run, Granny's going to crush the date!"

"I thought you said this wasn't a date, Naruto," she answered. Sakura didn't look down at Sasuke after what she'd heard.

"Sakura, where are you guys?"

"On the house," Sasuke answered.

Naruto and Tsunade appeared over the rise of rubble and smashed materials.

"What's going on, shishou?" Sakura pulled her shirt down when Naruto chuckled.

"Tsuchi got loose from Kazekagure two days ago."

Sakura's eyes turned sad, "Has he hurt himself?

"No."

"Do we know where he is?"

"Yes."

Her eyes crinkled in confusion, "Then what's the problem? He can't use Saigo no Tasuko anymore anyway."

"He has Kankuro and Temari; Gaara specifically asked that you do whatever Tsuchi wants."

"Me?"

"Yes, until you are presented to him, Temari and Kankuro are his hostages."

"And Gaara wants us to just go along with his wishes?"

"Sakura, they are his family. What would you do/"

Taking a deep breath, Sakura settled on her answer, "Fine, let's do it. Where is he?"

"You can't be serious."

Sasuke's eyes were hard. His stance was vaguely aggressive and predatory, but Sakura brushed him off.

"My friends need me. Of coarse I'm serious."

Deeming fighting with her hopeless, he turned to Tsunade, "Even I know of this psychopath who was rescued from one of Oorochimaru's labs. We have an agreement that Sakura will not go on missions or be put in danger while she is carrying my child."

It was the first time Sasuke had called the life within her anything other than 'heir'. Sakura could not talk. She shook herself, "I was not aware of any such agreement and therefore am not hold to it as I never acquiesced. Besides, he would not be putting me in anger. As I remember his profile, he had an obsession he thought was love; he will not hurt me."

Sasuke started to speak, but Sakura cut him off, "I'm going."

He glared at her fiercely. She very nearly gagged when she realized the look made her want him.

"I'm coming."

Naruto yelled, "Believe it!"

"No, you're not. You'll kill him."

"Maybe, why do you care? He's a mad man."

Sakura looked at Sasuke for a long moment, waiting for him to see the irony in what he'd just said from her point of view, "Fine, he's likely to kill you without thinking twice. He's mentally unstable," again, Sakura simply stood there, arms crossed, silently yelling that he's one to talk.

He sighed, "I'm stuck to you for about twenty-three hours, so if you're going, I am, too."

The growing baby kicked with all her might. This would be the start of the end. Love, hate, and lust are ready for a battle, but which one will be victorious? Will the other feel the same as well?

Kami knows when dealing with a woman scorned and a man who never admits to having a heart to break.

* * *

**A/N:** So there it is. Next one will be up... eventually. Im not going to try and guess when I might write it. Oh, and I drew some sketches if you want me to put them up.


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